UC-NRLF 


B    M    IDS    7fi2 


OPIE    READ'S   SELECT  WORKS 


THE  JUCKLINS 


A  NOVEL 


OPIE    READ 


Author  of  "The  Carpetbagger,"  "Old  Ebenezcr,"  "  My  Young  Master,"  "On  the 

Suwanee  River,"  "A  Tennessee  Judge,"  "A   Kentucky  Colonel,"  "The 

Colossus,"  "  Emmett  Bonlore,"  "Len  Gansett,"  "The  Tear  in  the 

Cup  and  Other  Stories,"  "The  Wives  of  the  Prophet." 


CHICAGO 
LAIRD    &    LEE,  PUBLISHERS 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  eightet- 
hundred  and  ninety- six,  by 

WILLIAM  H.  LEE, 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington 

(ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED.) 


THE  JUCKLINS 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  neighbors  and  our  family  began  to  laugh  at  me 
About  as  far  back  as  I  can  remember,  and  I  think  that  the 
first  serious  remark  my  father  ever  addressed  to  me  was, 
;T>ill,  you  are  too  lazy  to  amount  to  anything  in  this  life, 
so  I  reckon  we'll  have  to  make  a  school  teacher  of  you."  1 
don't  know  why  he  should  have  called  me  lazy ;  I  suppose 
jt  must  have  been  on  account  of  my  awkwardness.  Lazy, 
why,  I  could  sit  all  day  and  fish  in  one  place  and  not  get 
a  bite,  while  my  more  industrious  companions  would,  but 
of  sheer  exhaustion  of  patience,  be  compelled  to  move 
about;  and  I  hold  that  patience  is  the  very  perfection  of 
industry. 

In  the  belief  that  I  could  never  amount  to  anything  I 
gradually  approached  my  awkward  manhood.  I  grew 
fast,  and  I  admit  that  I  was  always  tired;  and  who  is  more 
weary  than  a  sprout  of  a  boy?  My  brothers  were  active  of 
body  and  quick  of  judgment,  and  I  know  that  Ed,  my  old 
est  brother,  won  the  admiration  of  the  neighborhood  when 
he  swapped  horses  with  a  stranger  and  cheated  him  un 
mercifully.  How  my  father  did  laugh,  and  mother  laugh 
ed,  too,  but  she  told  Ed  that  he  must  never  do  such  a 
thing  again.  With  what  envy  did  I  look  upon  this  ap- 


10  THE  JUCKLINS. 

plause.  1  knew  that  Ed's  brain  was  no  better  than  mine; 
and  as  I  lay  in  bed  one  night  I  formed  a  strong  resolve 
and  fondly  hugged  it  unto  myself.  I  owned  a  horse,  a 
good  one;  and  I  would  swap  him  off  for  two  horses — I 
would  cheat  some  one  and  thereby  win  the  respect  of  my 
fellows.  My  secret  was  sweet  and  I  said  nothing.  By  good 
chance  a  band  of  gypsies  came  our  way;  I  would  swindle 
the  rascals.  I  went  to  their  camp,  leading  my  horse,  and 
after  much  haggling,  I  came  home  with  two  horses.  It 
was  night  when  I  reached  home,  and  I  put  my  team  into 
the  stable,  and  barred  up  my  secret  until  the  sun  of  a  new 
day  could  fall  upon  it.  Well,  the  next  morning  one  of 
the  horses  was  dead,  and  the  other  one  was  so  stiff  that  we 
had  to  shove  him  out  of  the  stall.  My  father  snorted,  my 
poor  mother  wept,  and  for  nights  afterward  I  slipped  out 
and  slept  in  the  barn,  burrowed  under  the  hay  that  I 
might  not  hear  the  derisive  titter  of  my  brother  Ed. 

We  lived  in  northern  Alabama,  in  a  part  of  the  country 
that  boasted  of  the  refinement  and  intelligence  of  its  so 
ciety.  When  I  was  alone  with  boys  much  younger  than 
myself  I  could  say  smart  things,  and  I  had  a  hope  that 
when  I  should  go  into  formal  "company"  I  wrould,  with 
one  evening's  achievement,  place  myself  high  above  the 
numbskulls  who  had  giggled  at  me.  The  time  came.  There 
was  to  be  a  "party"  at  the  house  of  a  neighbor,  and  I  was 
invited.  I  had  a  suit  of  new  clothes,  and  after  dressing 
myself  with  exceeding  care,  I  set  out,  strong  of  heart,  for 
the  field  of  victory.  But  I  weakened  when  I  saw  the  array 


THE  JUCKLINS.  11 

of  blooded  horses  hitched  without,  and  heard  the  gay 
laughter  within,  a  merriment  rippling  and  merciless ;  and 
I  stood  on  the  porch,  sick  with  the  sense  of  my  awkward 
ness.  I  was  too  big,  and  I  knew  that  I  was  straining  my 
clothes.  Through  the  window  I  could  see  a  trim  fellow 
laughing  with  a  girl,  and  I  said  to  myself,  "If  I  can  catch 
you  out  somewhere  I  will  maul  you."  I  was  not  acquaint 
ed  with  him,  but  I  hated  him,  for  I  knew  that  he  was  my 
enemy.  To  an  overgrown  young  fellow,  ashamed  of  his 
uncouth,  steer-like  strength,  all  graceful  youths  are  hate 
ful;  and  he  feels,  too,  that  a  handsome  girl  is  his  foe,  for 
girls  with  pretty  mouths  are  nearly  always  laughing,  and 
why  should  they  laugh  if  they  are  not  laughing  at  him? 
Long  I  stood  there,  stretching  the  seams  of  my  clothes, 
argry,  wishing  that  the  house  might  catch  fire.  I  heard 
footsteps,  and  looking  about,  recognized  a  member  of  the 
household,  an  old  and  neglected  girl.  I  was  not  afraid  of 
her,  and  I  bowed.  And  I  felt  a  sudden  looseness,  a  giving 
away  of  a  part  of  my  gear.  She  called  me  Mr.  Hawes,  the 
very  first  time  that  any  one  had  called  me  anything  but 
Bill;  she  opened  the  door  and  bade  me  go  in.  I  had  to 
duck  my  head  as  I  stepped  forward,  and  there  I  was 
inside  the  room  with  the  light  pouring  over  me.  I  took 
one  step  forward,  and  stumbled  over  something,  and  then 
a  tittering  .fool  named  Bentley,  exclaimed:  "Hello,  here 
comes  little  Willie."  I  don't  know  how  I  got  out.  I  heard 
a  roar  of  laughter,  I  saw  grinning  faces  jumbled  together, 
and  then  I  was  outside,  standing  with  my  hot  hand  resting 


12  THE  JUCKLINS. 

in  the  frost  on  the  top  rail  of  a  fence.  Some  one  was  urg 
ing  me  to  come  back — the  neglected  girl — but  I  stood 
there  silent,  with  my  hot  hand  melting  the  frost.  I  went 
out  into  the  moon-lighted  woods,  seized  a  sapling  and 
almost  wrenched  it  from  the  ground.  Down  the  road  I 
went  toward  home,  but  I  turned  aside  and  sat  on  a  log. 
I  felt  a  sense  of  pain  and  I  opened  my  hands — I  had  been 
cutting  my  palms  with  my  nails.  But  in  this  senseless  fury 
I  had  made  up  my  mind.  I  would  waylay  Bentley  and 
beat  him.  Hour  after  hour  I  sat  there.  Horses  began  to 
canter  by;  up  and  down  the  road  there  was  laughter  and 
merry  chatting.  The  moon  was  full,  and  I  could  plainly 
see  the  passers-by.  Suddenly  I  sprang  from  the  log  and 
seized  a  bridle  rein.  A  girl  shrieked  and  a  man  cut  my 
hand  with  a  whip,  and  I  jerked  the  horse  to  his  knees. 
Bentley  shouted  that  he  would  kill  me  if  I  did  not  let  go, 
but  I  heeded  not;  I  jerked  him  off  his  horse,  kicked  his 
pistol  across  the  road,  mashed  his  mouth,  slammed  him 
against  the  ground.  The  shrieking  girl  cried  out  that  I 
was  a  brute,  and  I  told  her  that  I  could  whip  her  whole 
family,  a  charming  bit  of  repartee,  I  thought,  but  after 
ward  I  remembered  that  her  family  consisted  of  herself  and 
an  aged  grandmother,  and  I  sent  her  an  abject  apology. 
Bentley's  horse  cantered  away,  and  I  left  the  fellow  lying 
in  the  road,  with  the  girl  standing  over  him,  shrieking  for 
help.  It  was  all  done  in  a  minute,  and  with  jolting 
tread  I  stalked  away  before  any  one  came  up.  Of  course 
there  was  a  great  scandal.  My  poor  mother  was  grieved 


THE  JUCKLLNS.  13 

and  humiliated,  ashamed  to  meet  any  of  the  neighbors; 
and  my  father  swore  that  instead  of  becoming  a  school 
teacher  I  ought  to  turn  out  as  a  highwayman.  My  broth 
ers  thought  to  have  some  fun  with  me,  but  I  frightened 
them  with  a  roar,  and  for  a  time  they  were  afraid  to  smile 
>n  my  presence.  I  was  almost  heartbroken  over  my  dis 
grace.  Without  undue  praise  I  can  say  that  I  was  generous 
and  kindhearted;  even  as  a  child  I  had  shown  almost  a 
censurable  unselfishness ;  I  had  given  away  my  playthings, 
and  my  sensibilities  were  so  tender  that  I  could  not  bear 
the  sight  of  a  suffering  animal,  and  I  remember  that  an 
old  man  laughed  at  me  because  I  could  not  cut  the  throat 
of  a  sheep  when  the  poor  thing  had  been  hung  up  by  the 
heels.  And  now  I  was  put  down  as  a  heartless  brute.  Bent- 
ley's  face  constantly  haunted  me.  I  was  afraid  that  he 
might  die,  and  once  when  I  heard  that  he  was  not  likely 
to  get  well,  I  was  resolved  to  go  to  him,  to  beg  his  pardon. 
Two  weeks  had  passed ;  it  was  night  and  rain  was  pouring 
down,  but  I  cared  naught  for  the  wetting.  I  found  Bent- 
ley  sitting  up  with  his  face  bandaged.  His  mother  frown 
ed  at  me  when  she  opened  the  door  and  saw  me  standing 
there  under  the  drip,  and  it  was  some  time  before  she  asked 
me  to  come  in,  and  I  have  thought  that  she  would  have 
driven  me  off  had  not  the  sight  of  me,  wet  and  debased, 
aroused  her  pity.  Bentley  held  out  his  hand  when  I  en 
tered  the  room,  and  he  said,  "I  don't  blame  you,  Bill.  It 
was  mean  of  me,  but  I  wanted  to  be  smart."  I  was  so 
fall,  so  choked  witn  emotion,  that  it*  was  some  time  before 


14  THE  JUCKLINS. 

I  could  say  a  word.  But  after  a  time  I  spoke  of  the  rain, 
and  told  him  that  I  thought  that  I  had  heard  a  wildcat  as 
I  came  along,  which  was  a  lie,  for  I  had  heard  nothing 
save  the  wind  and  the  rain  falling  on  the  dead  leaves.  He 
laughed  and  said  that  he  did  not  suppose  that  I  would 
have  been  very  much  frightened  had  the  cat  jumped  at 
me.  Then  I  told  him  that  I  was  the  biggest  coward  on 
earth,  and  sought  to  prove  it  by  offering  to  let  him  kick  me 
as  long  as  he  might  find  it  amusing.  I  told  him  that  ev 
erybody  despised  me  for  the  way  I  had  beaten  him,  every 
body,  including  my  own  family,  and  that  I  deserved  the 
censure  of  all  good  people.  We  talked  a  long  time,  and 
he  laughed  a  great  deal,  but  when  I  told  him  that  I  was 
coming  over  to  work  for  him  three  weeks,  his  eyes  grew 
brighter  with  tears.  This  filled  me  up  again  and  I  could 
do  nothing  but  blubber.  After  a  long  time  I  asked  him 
if  he  would  do  me  a  favor,  and  he  said  that  he  would.  Then 
I  took  out  a  watch  that  I  had  brought  in  a  buckskin  bag. 
and  I  said,  "Here  is  a  thing  that  used  to  belong  to  my 
grandfather,  and  it  was  given  me  by  mother  when  I  was 
ten  years  old.  It  is  a  fine  time-piece  and  is  solid.  Now, 
I  want  you  to  take  it  as  a  present  from  me.  You  said  you 
would  do  me  a  favor."  But  he  declared  that  he  could  not 
take  it.  "Why,  I  would  despise  myself  if  I  did/'  said  he. 
I  told  him  that  I  would  despise  myself  if  he  did  not.  His 
mother,  who  had  left  us  alone,  came  in,  smiling,  and  said 
that  I  must  not  think  of  parting  with  so  valuable  a  watch, 
the  mark  of  my  grandfather's  gentility,  but  I  put  the  watcL 


THE  JUCKLIKS.  16 

on  the  table  and  plunged  out  into  the  rain  and  was  gone. 
Bentley's  mother  returned  the  watch  the  next  day,  and 
then  there  went  about  the  neighborhood  a  report  that  I 
was  so  much  afraid  of  Bentley's  revenge  that  I  had  tried 
to  buy  him  off  with  a  watch.  Bentley  had  said  that  I 
should  not  work  for  him,  but  when  the  time  for  breaking 
up  the  land  oame,  I  went  over  and  began  to  plow  the  field. 
His  mother  came  out  and  compelled  me  to  quit,  but  I 
went  back  at  night  and  plowed  while  other  people  slept; 
and  thus  I  worked  until  much  of  his  corn-land  was  broken 
up.  The  neighbors  said  that  I  had  gone  insane,  and  a  few 
days  afterward,  when  I  met  a  woman  in  the  road,  she 
jerked  her  old  mare  in  an  effort  to  get  away,  and  piteously 
begged  me  not  to  hurt  her.  I  made  no  further  attempt  to 
get  into  "company,"  and  thus,  forced  back  upon  myself, 
I  began  to  form  the  habits  of  a  student;  and  to  aid  me  in 
my  determination  to  study  law,  I  decided  to  teach  school. 
So,  when  I  was  almost  grown — or,  rather,  about  twenty- 
three  years  old,  for  I  appeared  to  keep  on  growing — I 
went  over  into  another  neighborhood  and  took  up  a 
school.  And  they  called  me  "Lazy  Bill."  I  couldn't  un 
derstand  why,  for  I  am  sure  that  I  attended  to  my  duties, 
that  I  played  town  ball  -vith  the  boys,  tihat  I  even  cut  wood 
all  day  one  Saturday ;  but  confound  them,  they  called  me 
lazy.  I  spoke  to  one  of  the  trustees;  I  called  his  attention 
to  the  fact  that  I  worked  hard,  and  he  replied  that  the 
hardest  working  man  he  had  ever  seen  was  a  lazy  fellow 
who  worked  merely  as  a  "blind."  To  sleep  after  the  sun 


m  THE  JUCKLIN& 

rises  is  a  great  crime  in  the  country,  and  sometimes  I  sat 
up  so  late  with  my  books  that  I  had  to  be  called  twice  for 
breakfast.  And  no  amount  of  work  could  have  offset  this 
ignominy.  I  taught  school  during  three  years,  and  found 
at  the  end  of  that  time  that  I  was  no  nearer  a  lawyer's  of 
fice.  Ojice  I  called  on  an  old  judge,  the  leading  lawyer 
in  a  neighboring  village,  and  told  him  that  if  he  would 
take  me  I  would  work  for  my  clothes,  and  the  humorous 
old  rascal,  surveying  me,  replied:  "I  have  not  contem 
plated  the  starling  of  a  woolen  mill.  Why  don't  you  go  to 
work?"  he  asked.  I  told  him  that  I  was  at  work,  that  I 
taught  school,  but  that  I  wanted  to  be  a  lawyer.  He 
laughed  and  said  that  teaching  school  was  not  work — de 
clared  it  to  be  the  refuge  of  the  lazy  and  the  shiftless.  I 
then  ventured  to  remark  that  the  South  would  continue  to 
be  backward  as  long  as  the  educator  was  put  down  as  a 
piece  of  worthless  rubbish.  I  went  away,  and  a  few  days 
later  one  of  the  trustees  called  on  me  and  said  that  I  had 
declared  their  children  to  be  ignorant  rubbish,  and  that 
therefore  they  wanted  my  services  no  longer.  I  returned 
home.  My  brothers  were  gone,  and  my  parents  were  in 
feeble  health.  My  father  died  within  a  year,  and  soon  my 
mother  followed  him.  The  farm  was  poor  and  was  mort 
gaged,  and  empty-handed  I  turned  away.  I  heard  that  a 
school  teacher  was  wanted  up  in  North  Carolina,  near  the 
Tennessee  line,  and  I  decided  to  apply  for  the  place.  I 
\valked  to  the  railway  station,  twenty  miles  distant.  I 
have  said  that  I  went  away  ernpty-hand^d.  I  did  not;  I 


THE  JUCKLINS.  17 

carried  a  trunk,  light  with  clothes  and  heavy  with  books. 
I  had  put  my  trunk  on  the  railway  platform  and  was  strid 
ing  up  and  down  when  I  saw  two  men,  well-dressed,  rich- 
looking,  standing  near.  This  amounted  to  nothing,  and 
I  would  not  mention  it  but  for  the  fact  that  it  was  at  this 
moment  that  I  received  my  first  encouragement.  One 
of  the  men,  speaking  to  his  companion,  remarked:  "Devil 
ish  fine-looking  fellow.  I'd  give  a  great  deal  to  be  in  his 
shoes,  to  have  his  strength  and  his  youth."  I  turned  away, 
eager  to  hear  more,  yet  afraid  lest  the  other  man  might 
say  something  to  spoil  it  all.  But  he  did  not.  "Yes,"  he 
replied,  "but  he  doesn't  know  how  fortunate  he  is.  Gad, 
he  looks  like  an  imported  bull." 

The  train  came  and  I  was  whirred  away,  over  streams, 
below  great  hanging  rocks;  but  I  thought  not  of  the 
grandeur  of  the  rocks  nor  of  the  beauty  of  the  streams, 
for  through  my  mind  was  running  the  delicious  music  of 
the  first  compliment  that  had  ever  been  paid  me.  And  I 
realized  that  I  had  outgrown  the  age  of  my  awkwardness, 
that  strength  was  of  itself  a  grace  to  be  admired,  that  I 
should  feel  thankful  rather  than  remember  with  bitter 
ness  the  days  of  my  humiliation.  I  observed  a  woman 
'ooking  at  me,  and  there  was  interest  in  her  eyes,  and  I 
knew  that  she  did  not  take  kindly  to  me  simply  because 
she  was  an  old  and  neglected  girl,  for  she  was  handsome. 
Beside  her  sat  a  man,  and  I  could  see  that  he  was  eager 
to  win  her  smile.  He  hated  me,  I  could  see  that, 
but  he  couldn't  laugh  at  me.  I  noticed  that  my  hands  and 


18  THE 

feet  were  not  over  large,  and  this  was  a  sort  of  surprise,  for 
T  recalled  hearing  a  boy  say  that  my  foot  was  the  biggest 
thing  he  ever  saw  without  a  liver  in  it.  I  reached  back 
and  wiped  out  the  past;  I  looked  out  at  a  radiant  cloud 
hanging  low  in  the  west,  and  called  it  the  future.  Fool? 
Oh,  of  course.  I  had  been  a  fool  when  a  boy,  and  was 
a  fool  now,  but  how  much  wiser  it  was  to  be  a  happy  fool. 
I  was  to  leave  the  train  at  Nagle  station,  and  then  to  go 
some  distance  into  the  country,  which  direction  I  knew 
not.  I  made  so  bold  as  to  ask  the  handsome  lady  if  she 
knew  anything  of  the  country  about  Nagle,  and  she  smiled 
sweetly,  and  said  that  she  did  not,  that  she  was  a  stranger 
going  South.  I  had  surmised  as  much,  and  I  spoke  to 
her  merely  to  see  what  effect  it  would  have  on  the  man  who 
sat  beside  her.  Was  my  new-found  pride  making  me  mali 
cious?  I  thought  it  was,  and  I  censured  myself.  The  lady 
showed  a  disposition  to  continue  the  talk,  but  the  man 
drove  me  into  silence  by  remarking:  "I  suppose  there  is 
something  novel  about  one's  first  ride  on  the  cars."  How 
I  did  want  to  reach  out  and  take  hold  of  his/  ear,  but  I 
thought  of  Bentley  and  subsided.  When  I  arose  to  get  off 
at  my  station,  I  thought  that  the  lady,  as  I  passed  her, 
made  a  motion  as  if  she  would  like  to  give  me  her  hand. 
This  might  simply  have  been  the  prompting  of  my  long 
famished  but  now  over-fed  conceit,  my  bloating  egotism, 
but  I  gave  the  woman  a  grateful  thought  as  I  stood  on  the 
platform  gazing  at  the  train  as  it  faded  away  in  the  dusk 
that  appeared  to  come  down  the  road  to  meet  it 


THE  JUCKLINS.  1» 

I  had  expected  to  alight  at  a  town,  but  the  station  was  a 
lonely  place,  a  wagon-maker's  shop,  the  company's  build 
ing  and  a  few  shanties.  I  asked  the  station  master  if  he 
knew  where  the  school  teacher  was  wanted,  and  he  an 
swered  that  'from  the  people  thereabouts  one  must  be 
needed  in  every  household. 

"And  I  should  think,"  I  replied,  giving  him  what  I  con 
ceived  to  be  a  look  of  severe  rebuke,  "that  a  teacher  of 
common  decency  and  politeness  is  most  needed  of  all." 

"I  reckon  you  are  right,"  he  rejoined.  "Is  he  the  man 
you  are  looking  for?" 

"I  don't  want  to  get  into  trouble  here,"  said  I,  "but  I  in 
sist  upon  fair  treatment  and  I'm  going  to  have  it." 

"All  right,  sir.    Now,  what  is  it  you  want  to  know?" 

"Wihy,  I  was  told  that  there  was  an  opening  for  a  school 
teacher  in  this  neighborhood." 

"And  so  there  is,  but  don't  you  know  that  no  neighbor 
hood  could  be  proud  of  such  a  fact?  Therefore,  you  ought 
to  be  more  careful  as  to  how  you  make  your  inquiries." 

I  saw  that  he  wanted  to  joke  with  me  and  I  joked  with 
him.  And  I  soon  found  that  this  was  the  right  course, 
for  he  invited  me  into  his  office  and  insisted  upon  my  shar 
ing)  his  luncheon,  cold  bread  and  meat  and  a  tin  bucket  of 
boiling  coffee.  I  soon  learned  that  he  was  newly  grad 
uated  from  a  school  of  telegraphy,  and  that  this  was  his 
first  position.  He  had  come  from  a  city  and  he  gave  me 
tfie  impression  that  he  was  buried  alive;  he  said  that  he 
had  entered  an  oath  in  his  book  that  if  some  one  didn't 


20  THE  JUCKLINS 

get  off  at  his  station  pretty  soon  he  would  set  the  whole 
thing  on  fire  and  turn  train  robber.  "Don't  you  think  that 
would  be  a  pretty  good  idea?"  he  asked,  laughing. 

"It  would  be  a  pretty  dangerous  one,  at  least,"  I  an 
swered. 

"Yes,  but  without  danger  there  is  never  any  fun.  My  old 
man  insisted  upon  my  taking  that  night-school  course-, 
and  the  professor  of  the  institution  held  out  the  idea  that 
I  could  be  a  great  man  within  a  short  time  after  graduat 
ing;  led  me  to  believe  I  could  get  charge  of  a  big  office 
in  town,  but  here  I  am  stuck  up  here  in  these  hills.  No 
rags  about  Tiere  at  all." 

"No  what?" 

"Rags,  calico,  women — catch  on?" 

"You  mean  no  society,  to  speak  of." 

"That's  it.  Oh,  away  off  in  the  country  it's  all  right,  but 
I  can  never  go  more  than  three  miles  from  this  miserable 
place.  You'll  have  to  go  about  fifteen  miles." 

"How  do  you  know?" 

"Why,  an  old  fellow  from  a  neighborhood  about  thai 
far  away  came  out  here  the  other  day  and  sent  off  a  dis 
patch,  telling  some  man  off,  I  don't  remember  where,  to 
send  a  teacher  out  there." 

"And  one  might  have  come  by  this  time,"  I  suggested, 
with  a  sense  of  fear. 

"No,  you  are  the  only  one  that  has  put  in  an  appear* 
ance,  and  the  only  one  that  is  likely  to  come.  I  under* 
stand  that  they  don't  treat  teachers  very  well  out  ttere." 


THE  JUCKLINS.  81 

"How  so?" 

"The  boys  have  a  habit  of  ducking  them  in  the  creek,  I 
hear." 

"Oh,  is  that  all?    Be  fun  for  me.'' 

"You  won't  think  so  after  you  see  those  roosters.  Let 
me  see.  Take  the  Purdy  road  out  there,  and  go  straight- 
ahead  to  the  east,  and  when  you  think  you  have  gone 
about  fifteen  miles,  ask  for  the  house  of  Lim  Jucklin. 
The  last  teacher,  I  understand,  boarded  at  his  house." 

"You  appear  to  know  a  good  deal  about  it." 

"Well,  the  truth  of  it  is,  I  do,  for  the  last  teaaher  came 
and  went  this  way.  And  he  told  me  like  this :  The  thing 
opened  up  all  right,  plenty  of  rags,  but  that  evening  some 
of  the  young  fellows  came  to  me  and  said  that  unless  I 
brought  some  sort  of  treat  the  next  morning  they  would 
put  me  in  the  creek ;  said  that  they  hated  to  do  it,  but  that 
time-honored  customs  must  be  observed.  I  didn't  bring 
any  treat  and  I  went  into  the  creek.  Then  I  left.'  Yes, 
that's  what  he  said,  and  I  concluded  that  as  for  me  I  would 
rather  be  here.  It  isn't  so  lively,  but  it  is  a  good  deal 
dryer.  But  you  can't  get  there  to-night.  Better  take  a 
shake-down  here  with  me  till  morning,  and  then  you  may 
catch  some  farmer  going  that  way  with  a  wagon." 

I  thanked  him  for  this  courtesy,  and  readily  accepted  it. 
And  the  next  morning,  with  my  trunk  on  my  shoulder, 
I  set  out  upon  what  I  conceived  to  be  my  career  in  life, 


£2  THE  JUCKLIN& 


CHAPTER  II 

The  imonth  was  April,  and  the  day  was  blithe,  with  no 
blotch  in  the  sky.  The  country  was  rough,  the  road  was 
pebbly  in  the  bottoms  and  flinty  on  the  hills,  but  there  was 
a  leaping  joy  everywhere;  in  the  woods  where  the  blue- 
jays  were  shouting,  down  the  branch  where  the  wood 
pecker  tapped  in  an  oak  tree's  sounding  board.  It  must 
have  been  a  low-hanging  ambition  to  be  thrilled  with  the 
prospect  of  teaching  school,  or  was  it  buoyant  health  that 
made  me  happy?  I  eased  down  my  trunk,  and  boyishly 
threw  stones  away  off  into  an  edhoing  hollow.  A  rabbit 
ran  out  into  the  road  and  stopped,  and  with  a  stone  1 
knocked  it  over.  Tenderly  I  picked  it  up,  felt  its  fluttering 
heart,  and  groaned  inwardly  when  the  little  heart  was 
stilled.  I  called  myself  a  murderer,  an  Anglo-Saxon 
brute,  to  kill  a  harmless  creature  merely  upon  a  devilish 
impulse,  and  in  the  gravelly  ground  I  began  to  dig  a  grave 
with  my  knife,  and  I  was  so  much  taken  up  with  this  work 
and  with  my  grief,  that  I  heeded  not  the  approach  of  a 
wagon. 

"What  are  you  doing  there?"  some  one  called. 
I  looked  up.    A  farmer  had  stopped  his  blowing  horses 
and  was  looking  at  me.     "I'm  digging  a  grave,"  I  an- 


THE  JUCKLLNS.  23 

swered. 

"Diggin*  a  grave?    Why,  who's  dead?" 

"A  rabbit."  He  moved  uneasily,  and  gave  me  a  search 
ing  look.  And  I  saw  that  he  took  me  to  be  insane.  "I 
killed  the  poor  thing,"  I  explained,  "killed  it  out  of  mere 
wantonness,  and  I  am  so  grief-stricken  that  I  am  going 
to  do  the  best  I  can  for  the  poor  thing — going  to  give  it  a 
Christian  burial." 

The  man  laughed.  "I  wish  you  would  kill  the  last  one 
of  them,"  he  said.  "Set  out  as  nice  a  young  orchard  as 
you  ever  saw  last  winter,  and  the  devilish  rabbits  killed 
every  one  of  the  trees." 

"Then  I  am  not  so  much  of  a  murderer  after  all,"  I  re 
plied.  "I  might  have  known  that  rabbits  are  not  alto 
gether  harmless.  How  far  do  you  go  on  this  road?" 

"About  ten  miles." 

"Will  you  let  me  ride  with  you?" 

"Yes,  be  glad  to  have  you." 

I  put  the  rabbit  into  his  grave,  raked  the  dirt  on  him 
with  my  foot — .hardly  a  Christian-like  way,I  admit — placed 
my  trunk  into  the  body  of  the  wagon,  and  took  a  seat  be 
side  the  man.  And  there  was  something  about  him  that 
at  once  interested  me.  His  hat  was  off  and  the  breeze 
was  stirring  his  grizzly  hair.  His  nose  was  large  and  thin, 
and  when  he  turned  his  face  square  upon  me,  I  saw  that 
his  eyes  were  gray  and  clear.  He  wore  no  coat,  his  shirt 
sleeves  were  rolled  back,  and  though  he  must  have  been 
more  than  fifty  years  old,  I  could  see  that  he  had  enormous 


ft  THE  JUCKLINS. 

strength  in  his  arms.    And  he  was  looking  at  me  admir 
ingly,  for  he  said,  "You  must  be  pretty  much  of  a  man." 

"I  am  not  a  child  except  in  my  lack  of  wisdom,"  I  an 
swered. 

"Gad,  you  talk  like  a  preacher.    Which  way  are  you 
going?" 

"Over  to  Lim  Jucklin's  house." 

He  gave  me  another  square  look  and  remarked,  "That's 
my  name." 

"You  don't  tell  me  so?" 

"Didn't  you  hear  me  tell  you  so?" 

"Yes,  but " 

"Well,  then,  I  did  tell  you  so." 

"I  am  delighted  to  meet  you,  sir.  I  am  a  school  teacher, 
and  I  hear  that  one  is  wanted  in  your  neighborhood." 

He  looked  at  me  from  head  to  foot,  and  replied:  "I 
shouldn't  wonder  but  you  are  the  right  man.  "What's  your 
name?" 

I  told  him  and  after  a  few  moments  of  silence  he  asked, 
"Any  kin  to  the  Luke  Hawes  that  fought  in  the  Creek 
war?" 

"He  was  my  grandfather." 

"Ah,  hah,  and  my  daddy  fit  with  him — was  a  lieutenant 
in  his  company.  Let's  shake  hands.  Whoa,  boys."  He 
stopped  his  horses,  got  up,  shook  down  the  wrinkled  legs 
of  his  trousers  and  reached  forth  his  hand. 

"You  are  a  stranger  in  North  Caroliny,"  he  said  when  he 
had  ducketi  to  his  horses. 


THE  JUCKL1HS  26 

"Yes,  I  am  a  stranger  everywhere  you  might  put  it," 
I  answered.  "I  am  from  Alabama,  but  the  people  made  so 
much  fun  of  me  in  the  community  where  I  was  brought 
up  that  I  am  even  a  stranger  there." 

"What  did  they  make  fun  of  you  about?" 

"Because  I  was  overgrown  and  awkward." 

"Whoa,  boys!  Let's  shake  hands  again.  I  got  it  the 
same  way  when  I  was  a  boy,  and  I  come  in  one  of  never 
gettin'  over  it." 

We  drove  on  and  had  gone  some  distance  when  he 
asked:  "Do  you  know  all  about  'rithmetic?" 

"I  at  least  know  the  multiplication  table." 

"It's  more  than  I  do.  Get  up  there,  boys.  And  down 
in  my  country  they  think  that  a  man  that  don't  know  all 
about  'rithmetic  is  a  fool.  I  have  often  told  them  that  there 
wan't  no  record  of  the  fact  that  the  Saviour  was  good  at 
riggers,  except  figgers  of  speech,  but  they  won't  have  it 
that  a  man  is  smart  unless  he  can  go  up  to  a  barn  and 
cover  one  side  of  it  with  eights  and  sevens  and  nines  and 
all  that  sort  of  thing.  I've  got  a  daughter  that's  quicker 
than  a  flash — took  it  from  her  mother,  I  reckon — and  I 
have  a  son  that's  tolerable,  but  I  have  always  been  left 
in  the  lurch  right  there.  But  I  can  read  all  right,  and  I 
know  the  Book  about  as  well  as  the  most  of  them,  but 
that  makes  no  difference  down  in  our  neighborhood.  The 
pace  down  there  is  set  by  Old  General  Lundsford.  He 
knows  all  about  riggers  and  everything  else,  for  that  mat 
ter,  but  figgers  is  his  strong  holt.  He  owns  nearly  every- 


Si6  THE  JUCKLINS 

thing;  is  a  mighty  'ristocrat  and  don't  bend  very  often; 
lives  in  the  house  that  his  grandfather  built,  great  big 
brick,  and  never  had  no  respect  for  me  at  all  until  I  wal 
lowed  him  in  the  road  one  day  about  thirty  odd  years  ago. 
And  along  about  ten  years  after  that  he.  found  out  that 
he  had  a  good  deal  of  respect  for  me.  What  do  you  know 
about  game  chickens?" 

"Not  very  much;  I  simply  know  that  they  are  about 
the  bravest  things  that  live." 

He  gave  me  another  one  of  his  square  looks  and  re 
plied:  "There  is  more  wisdom  in  such  talk  as  that  than 
there  could  be  crowded  into  a  wheat  bin.  But,  do 
you  know  that  people  make  fun  of  me  because  I  admire 
a  game  rooster?  They  do.  I  don't  want  to  fight  'em  for 
money,  you  know;  I'm  a  good  church  member  and  all 
that  sort  of  tiling;  I  believe  the  Book  from  one  end  to  the 
other;  believe  that  the  whale  swallowed  Jonah,  I  don't 
care  if  its  throat  ain't  bigger  than  a  hoe-handle;  believe 
that  the  vine  growed  up  in  one  night,  and  withered  at 
mornin';  believe  that  old  Samson  killed  all  them  fellers 
with  the  jaw-bone — believe  everything  as  I  tell  you  from 
start  to  finish,  but  I'll  be  blamed  if  I  can  keep  from 
fightin'  chickens  to  save  my  life.  And  I  always  keep  twc 
beauties,  I  tell  you.  Not  long  ago  my  wife  ups  and  kills 
Sam  and  fed  him  to  a  preacher.  Preacher  was  there, 
hungry,  and  the  other  chickens  were  parading  around 
summers  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill,  but  my  wife  she  ups 
and  kills  Sam,  a  black  beauty,  with  ,n.  pedigree  as  long  as 


THE  JTTCKLINS  27 

a  plow-line.    And,  sir,  while  that  man  was  chawin'  of  my 
chicken  he  gave  me  a  lecture  on  fightin'  roosters." 

"You  spoke  of  your  son  and  daughter.    Do  they  attend 
school?" 

"Oh,  no;  they  are  grown  long  ago." 

"Then  how  is  it  that  the  teacher  usually  boards  at  your 
house?" 

"I  don't  know;  but  they  do.    Reckon  they  jest  fell  into 

the  habit.    My  house  is  handy,  for  one  thing;  ain't  more 

than  three  miles  from  the  school — jest  a  nice,  exercisin' 

sort  of  walk.    Whoa,  boys!     Sorter  have  to  scotch  'em 

back  goin'  down  here.    Saw  a  man  get  killed  down  there 

one  day;  horse  kicked  him,  and  do  you  see  that  knob  over 

there  where  them  hickory  trees  are?    I  had  a  hard  time 

there  one  night.    A  lot  of  foot-burners  come  to  my  house 

one  night  durin'  the  war  and  took  me  out  and  told  me 

that  if  I  didn't  give  them  my  money  they  would  roast  my 

shanks.    I  didn't  have  any  money  and  I  told  them  so,  but 

they  didn't  believe  me;  and  so  they  brought  me  right  over 

there  where  them  hickories  are,  tied  me,  took  off  my  shoes 

and  built  up  a  fire  at  my  feet;  but  about  the  time  they  had 

got  me  well  blistered,  along  come  some  Yankee  soldiers 

and  nabbed  'em.     And  a  few  minutes  after  that  there 

wasn't  anything  agin  their  feet,  I  tell  you,  not  even  the 

ground.    Well,  we  are  gettin'  pretty  close  to  home  now." 

"But  we  haven't  come  fifteen  miles  from  the  station, 

have  we?" 

"Well,  you  had  come  about  five  mile  before  I  overtook 


28  THE  JUCKLINS 

you  and  we  have  come  nearly  ten  since  then.  These 
hosses  are  travelers.  Oh,  I  reckon  we've  got  about  three 
more  miles  to  go  yet." 

The  country  was  old,  with  here  and  there  a  worn-out  and 
neglected  field.  A  creek  wound  its  way  among  the  hills, 
deep  and  dark  in  places,  but  babbling  out  into  a  broad 
and  shiny  ford  where  we  crossed.  One  moment  the  scene 
was  desolate,  with  gullied  hill-sides,  but  further  on  and  off 
to  the  right  I  could  see  poetic  strips  of  meadow  land,  and 
further  yet,  upon  a  hill-top,  stood  a  grim  old  house  of 
brick  and  stone.  We  turned  off  to  the  right  before  coming 
abreast  of  this  place,  and  pursued  a  winding  course  along 
a  deep-shaded  ravine,  not  rough  with  broken  ground,  but 
graceful  with  grassy  slopes  and  with  here  and  there  a 
rock.  My  companion  pointed  out  his  house,  what  is 
known  as  a  double  log  building,  with  a  broad  passage 
way  between  the  two  sections.  A  path,  so  hard  and 
smooth  that  it  shone  in  the  sun,  ran  down  obliquely  into 
the  ravine,  and  at  the  end  of  it  I  saw  a  large  iron  kettle 
overturned,  and  I  knew  that  this  marked  the  spring.  I  liked 
the  place,  the  forest  back  of  it,  the  steep  hills  far  away, 
the  fields  lying  near  and  the  meadow  down  the  ravine.  I 
hate  a  new  house,  a  new  field,  a  wood  that  looks  new;  to 
me  there  must  be  the  impress  of  fond  association,  and  here 
I  found  it,  the  spring-house  with  moss  on  its  roof,  the 
path,  a  great  oak  upon  whidh  death  had  placed  its  beauti 
ful  mark — a  bough  of  missletoe. 

"You  hop  right  out  and  go  in  and  make  yourself  at 


THE  JUCKLItfS  2» 

home,  while  I  take  care  of  the  horses/'  said  the  old  man. 

"Go  right;  on/7  he  added,  for  he  saw  that  I  was  hesitating, 

"You  don't  need  an  introduction.    Jest  say  that  you  are 

Whut'sname  and  that  you  are  the  new  school  teacher." 
"But  I  don't  know  yet  that  I  am  to  be  the  teacher." 
"Well,  then,  tell  'em  that  you  are  Whut'sname  and  that 

you  don't  know  whether  you  are  to  be  the  teacher  or  not." 
"But  won't  you  stop  long  enough  to  introduce  me?" 
"Oh,  I  reckon  I  mout.    Come  on.    There  is  wife  in  the 

door,  now." 

He  did  not  go  as  far  as  the  door;  he  simply  shouted; 

"Here's  a  man,  Susan.    He  can  tell  you  his    name,  tor 

blamed  if  I  ain't  dun  forgot." 


THE 


CHAPTER  HL 

Into  this  household  I  was  received  with  open-handed 
graciousness.  Nothing  can  be  more  charming  than  the 
unconscious  generosity  of  simple  folk.  To  this  family 
I  applied  the  word  simple  and  cut  myself  with  a  cool  smile 
at  my  own  vanity.  Was  I  not  a  countryman  and  as 
rustic-minded  as  they?  But  I  had  come  from  another 
community,  had  crossed  a  state  line  and  the  lines  of  several 
counties,  and  besides  I  took  to  myself  the  credit  of  having 
read  many  a  cunning  book,  and  therefore  these  people 
were  surely  more  simple  than  I.  Traveling  unquestion 
ably  gathers  knowledge,  but  the  man  who  reads  has  ever 
a  feeling  that  he  is  the  proper  critic  of  the  man  who  has 
simply  observed. 

Mrs.  Jucklin  gave  me  a  strong  grasp  of  welcome,  apol 
ogized  for  the  lack  of  order  that  I  must  surely  find  in  the 
house  and  conducted  me  to  the  sitting-room,  a  large 
apartment,  with  a  home-woven  carpet  on  the  floor.  A 
turkey  wing,  used  for  a  fan,  hung  beside  the  enormous 
fire-place,  and  on  the  broad  mantelpiece,  trimmed  with 
paper  cut  in  scollops,  an  old  Yankee  clock  was  ticking. 
The  woman  shook  a  cat  out  of  a  hickory  rocking  chair  and 
urged  me  to  sit  down.  She  knew  that  I  must  be  tired  after 


THE 

my  long  ride,  and  she  said  that  if  I  would  only  excuse 
her  for  a  moment  she  would  go  down  to  the  spring-house 
and  get  me  a  glass  of  milk,  to  give  me  strength  wherewith 
to  wait  until  she  could  stir  about  and  get  something  to 
cat.  And  above  all,  I  must  pardon  LimuePs  abruptness 
of  manner.  But  really  he  meant  nothing  by  it,  as  I  would 
find  out  when  I  should  become  better  acquainted  with 
him.  She  was  a  little,  black-eyed  woman,  doubtless  a 
descendant  of  a  Dutch  family  that  had  come  to  the  colony 
at  an  early  date,  for  she  reminded  me  of  my  mother,  and  I 
know  that  mother's  grandfather  was  a  Dutchman.  I 
begged  Mrs.  Jucklin  not  to  go  after  the  milk,  but  she  ran 
away  almost  with  the  lightness  of  a  girl.  In  truth,  to 
think  of  the  milk  made  me  shudder;  I  couldn't  bear  the 
thought  of  it.  During  the  hard  times  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  when  I  was  a  child,  we  had  to  drink  rye  coffee,  and  I 
remember  that  once  the  cows  got  into  the  rye  field  and 
gave  rye  milk.  The  coffee  and  the  milk  together  had  made 
me  sick,  and  ever  since  then  I  had  looked  upon  milk  with 
a  reminiscent  horror.  But  there  she  came  with  it. 

"My  dear  madam,"  I  pleaded,  "I  would  much  rather  not 
drink  it." 

"Oh,  but  you  must,  for  I  know  you  are  tired  out." 

"But  I  don't  drink  milk." 

"And  it  is  because  you  can't  find  any  like  this.  Just 
taste  it,  then." 

The  old  man  came  stalking  into  the  room  and  I  gave 
him  an  appealing  look.  "I  gad,  Susan/'  said  he,  "let  him 


82  THE  JUCKLIIV& 

alone.    Don't  you  reckon  he's  got  sense  enough  to  know 
what  he  wants?   Take  the  stuff  away." 

With  a  sigh  of  disappointment  she  placed  the  tumbler 
upon  the  mantelpiece.    " Where's  Alf  ?"  the  old  man  asked. 

"Gone  over  to  the  General's  to  help  about  something." 

"Where's  Guinea?" 

"She's  about  somewhere.  That's  her  in  the  passage,  I 
think.  Guinea?"  There  was  no  reply,  save  of  hastening 
footsteps,  and  a  moment  later  a  young  woman  entered 
the  room.  She  was  not  very  tall,  but  she  was  graceful,  and 
her  dark  eyes  were  dashed  with  mischief.  She  reminded 
me  of  the  woman  whom  I  had  seen  on  the  train ;  her  smile 
was  the  same,  but  her  eyes  were  brighter.  She  had  a 
peculiar  laugh,  a  musical  cluck,  and  at  first  sight  I  was 
glad  that  I  had  met  her,  but  a  moment  later  I  was  afraid 
that  she  was  going  to  laugh  at  me.  The  old  man  did  not 
introduce  me;  his  wife  did  not  know  my  name,  and  I 
sought  to  speak  my  name,  but  had  lost  it  just  at  that 
moment  and  could  merely  splutter  something.  I  was 
noi  much  embarrassed,  though;  I  recalled  what  I  had 
heard  the  two  men  say,  and  behind  me  was  the  strong 
brace  of  a  woman's  kindly  regard. 

"We  are  glad  to  see  you,"  said  the  garl,  looking  straight 
at  me.  I  replied  that  I  was  glad  to  see  her,  and  then  we 
both  laughed;  she  with  her  musical  cluck  and  I  with  a 
goat-like  rasp,  it  seemed  to  me.  We  all  drew  up  about 
the  fire-place,  a  habit  in  the  country,  and  it  was  then  that 
I  thought  of  the  open-handed  graciousness  of  the  house- 


THE  JUCKLINS  83 

hold.  Had  I  correctly  caught  this  girPs  name,  Guinea? 
And  with  a  countryman's  frankness  I  asked  if  that  were 
her  name. 

"Well,  no,"  said  Mrs.  Jucklin,  speaking  for  her,  "it  ain't 
her  sure  enough  name,  but  it's  all  that  she  goes  by.  And 
it  came  about  in  this  way:  A  long  time  ago,  when  she 
was  a  little  bit  of  a  girl,  she  was  toddlin'  about  the  yard 
with  a  checked  dress  on,  and  one  of  the  neighbors  lookin' 
at  her  said  that  she  looked  exactly  like  a  little  guinea 
chicken,  and  ever  since  then  we  have  called  her  Guinea. 
Her  right  name  is  Angeline." 

"Her  right  name  is  what?"  the  old  man  asked,  look 
ing  up. 

"Angeline,"  I  said. 

"Well,  it's  the  first  time  I  ever  heard  of  it." 

"Now,  Limuel,  why  do  you  want  to  act  that  way?  A 
body  would  think  that  you  don't  know  anything  about 
your  own  family." 

"Never  heard  of  it  before,"  said  the  old  man. 

"You  are  surely  the  most  provokin'  man  I  ever  saw, 
Limuel.  You  know  the  very  day  we  named  the  child, 
and  now  you  pretend " 

"Pretend?  I  don't  pretend  nothin'.  Can't  blame  a 
man  for  never  hearin'  of  the  name,  can  you?" 

"Mister,"  she  said,  turning  to  me,  "please  don't  pay 
any  attention  to  him.  He'd  pester  me  nearly  to  death 
if  I'd  let  him.  But  come,  Guinea,  we  must  stir  about  and 
get  something  to  eat" 


84  THE  JUCKLLNS 

The  mother  and  the  daughter  went  out  into  a  kitchen 
detached  from  the  main  part  of  the  house,  and  the  old 
man  looked  at  me  and  laughed.  And  after  a  moment 
of  chuckling  he  said:  "I  reckon  that  I've  got  two  of  the 
finest  in  the  world." 

"Children?"  I  asked. 

"No,  game  roosters.  One's  named  Sam  and  the  other's 
named  Bob." 

"I  thought  you  said  that  Sam  had  been  eaten  by  the 
preacher." 

"Oh,  that  Sam  was,  but  I've  got  another  one.  I  always 
have  a  Sam  and  a  Bob.  When  a  Sam  dies  I  get  another 
Sam,  and  likewise  with  a  Bob.  But  you  know  what's  a 
fact?  I  never  allow  'em  to  fight  to  a  finish.  If  I  did 
the  sport  would  be  gone.  You  must  never  let  one  rooster 
know  that  the  other  one  can  whip  him,  for  if  you  do  there 
won't  be  any  fight  after  that — you  must  always  keep  each 
one  believin'  that  he  is  the  best  man.  I  reckon  I've  had 
more  than  a  hundred,  but  I  never  let  'em  fight  to  a  finish. 
My  folks  here  don't  care  nothin'  about  fun — they  even 
frown  on  it,  Alf  with  the  rest,  and  I  hold  that  he  ought 
to  know  better,  bein'  a  man,  but  so  it  is.  I've  got  a  chicken 
house  back  here,  with  a  high  picket  fence  around  it,  and 
I  keep  it  locked,  I  tell  you.  Have  to,  or  the  preachers 
would  eat  up  my  sport,  and  this  ain't  findin'  no  fault  with 
their  doctrine,  for  I  believe  the  Book  from  kiver  to  kiver. 
After  we  get  a  snack  we'll  slip  off  and  have  a  set-to.  What 
do  you  say?" 


THE  JUCKLINS  88 

I  hardly  knew  wlhat  to  say.  I  was  afraid  to  decline,  lest 
I  might  lose  his  good  opinion,  and  I  was  loth  to  accept 
the  invitation,  fearing  that  I  might  lower  myself  in  the 
estimation  of  the  women ;  but  while  I  was  casting  about 
the  old  man  relieved  me  by  saying:  "However,  we've  got 
plenty  of  time  before  us.  It's  always  well  to  hold  a  good 
thing  in  reserve,  you  know.  After  dinner  we'll  go  over 
and  see  Old  Perdue  and  find  out  if  you  can  arrange  with 
him  about  the  school.  He's  got  the  whole  thing  in  charge. 
General  Lundsford  has  charge  of  nearly  everything  else, 
but  he  don't  take  much  stock  in  free  schools.  He  argues 
that  nothin'  that's  free  is  any  good,  and  in  the  main  he's 
about  right;  but  we've  had  some  pretty  good  schools 
here,  the  only  trouble  bein'  to  keep  the  teachers  out  of 
the  creek.  What  education  my  son  Alf  has  he  picked 
up  about  home,  here,  but  Guinea  was  sent  off  to  school, 
way  over  at  Raleigh." 

"I  am  glad  to  see  that  you  thought  so  much  of  the  im 
portance  of  training  her  mind,"  I  rema/ked. 

He  gave  me  a  troubled  look,  moved  uneasily,  as  I  had 
seen  him  move  when  I  told  him  that  I  was  burying  a 
rabbit,  ran  his  fingers  through  his  upright,  bristling  hair 
and  for  a  long  time  was  silent.  And  as  I  looked  at  him 
I  fancied  that  he  was  trying  to  think  of  something  to  say, 
something  to  lead  my  mind  away  from  what  he  had 
already  said.  I  had  seen  the  quaint,  half-comical  side 
of  his  nature,  and  now  I  saw  that  he  could  be  thoughtful, 
and  in  his  serious  mood  his  face  was  strong  and  rugged 


ft  THE  JUCKLINS 

His  beard,  cropped  close,  reminded  me  of  scraps  of  wire, 
some  of  them  rusted;  and  when  he  wiped  his  mouth  with 
the  back  of  his  hand  I  wondered  that  he  did  not  scratch 
the  skin  off. 

Guinea  came  to  the  door  and  told  us  that  the  meal  was 
ready.  The  old  man  got  up,  with  a  return  of  his  comical 
air,  and  told  me  to  follow  him.  The  girl  continued  to 
stand  near  the  threshold  and  as  I  drew  near  unto  her  she 
said:  "This  door  wasn't  cut  quite  high  enough  for  you, 
was  it?  Look,  father,  he  has  to  duck  his  head.  The  boys 
may  have  a  time  putting  him  into  the  creek."  She  was 
now  talking  to  her  father,  but  was  looking  at  me,  so  I 
took  it  upon  myself  to  answer  her.  "Yes,  for  you  have 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  my  legs  are  long  and  the 
rascals  may  have  hard  running  with  trying  to  catch  me." 

"Oh,"  she  replied,  "but  I  was  thinking  of  your  strength 
rather  than  your  swiftness.  Come  this  way.  Father  has 
run  off  and  left  you." 

The  old  man  had  stepped  down  out  of  the  passage  and 
had  gone  some  distance  toward  a  small  house  surrounded 
by  a  picket  fence. 

"You  go  with  her,"  he  called,  looking  back,  "and  ITi 
be  there  pretty  soon." 

"No  telling  when  he  will  come  now,"  the  girl  remarked, 
walking  close  beside  me.  "He's  got  two  of  the  most 
spiteful  chickens  out  there  you  ever  saw,  and  whenever 
anything  goes  wrong  with  him  he  bolts  right  out  there,  no 
matter  who  is  here,  and  makes  those  vicious  things  peck 


THE  JUCKLINS  & 

at  each  other.  Mother  and  I  try  hard  to  reform  him,  but 
we  can't." 

It  was  Mrs.  Jucklin's  time-grayed  privilege  id  apologize 
for  the  scantiness  of  her  fare,  and  this  she  did  with  be 
coming  modesty  and  regret.  She  had  not  expected  com 
pany;  the  regular  dinner  hour  was  over  long  ago,  and 
somehow  she  never  could  understand  why  she  couldn't 
get  a  meal  out  of  the  regular  time.  But  if  I  would  only 
give  her  a  chance  she  would  reclaim  herself.  She  called 
my  attention  to  the  corn  bread;  declared  that  it  was  not 
fit  to  be  eaten,  and  she  didn't  know  what  made  the  stove 
act  that  way.  But  the  milk  she  knew  was  good.  Oh,  she 
had  forgotten  that  I  didn't  drink  milk.  Guinea  smiled  at 
me  and  clucked  at  her  mother.  ''Don't  pretend  that  you 
like  anything  just  to  please  her,"  she  said,  when  Mrs. 
Jucklin  had  turned  about  to  keep  a  hoe-cake  from  burn 
ing.  "All  you've  got  to  do  is  to  say  nothing  until  she  gets 
through — that,  and  simply  to  remember  that  she  en 
joys  it." 

While  we  were  eating  we  heard  a  voice  crying:  "Hike, 
there,  Sam;  get  him  down,  Bob!  Hike  there!" 

"They  are  warming  up  to  their  work,"  Guinea  re 
marked,  and  her  mother  sighed;  and  then  she  began  to 
talk  louder  than  was  her  wont,  striving  to  drown  the  old 
man's  voice.  "It  isn't  any  use,  mother,"  said  the  girl.  "The 
gentleman  will  find  it  out  sooner  or  later." 

"And  I  suppose,"  said  I,  "that  you  think  that  you  may 
find  out  my  name  sooner  or  later.  Please  pardon  me  for 


88  THE  JUGKLINS 

not  introducing  myself.    My  name  is " 

"Hike,  there,  Bob!  Get  him  down,  Sam!  Now  you  are 
at  it! -Hike,  there!" 

"My  name  is  Hawes,  William  Hawes,  and  I  am  from 
Alabama." 

"And  you  have  come  to  teach  the  school?"  said  the  girl. 

"Yes,  if  I  can  make  the  arrangements." 

"But  is  there  anything  very  satisfying  in  such  an  occu 
pation?"  she  asked. 

I  felt  then  that  she  placed  no  very  high  estimate  upon 
my  worth,  and  on  her  part  this  was  but  natural,  for  among 
country  people  school-teaching  is  looked  upon  as  a  lazy 
calling. 

"I  have  not  chosen  teaching  as  my  real  vocation,"  I 
answered. 

"Hike,  there,  I  tell  you!  Hike!" 

"It  is  my  aim  to  be  a  lawyer,  to  be  eloquent,  to  stir  emo 
tions,  to  be  strong  in  the  presence  of  men.  My  earlier 
advantages,  no  matter  how  I  sought  .to  turn  them  about, 
gave  me  no  promise  of  reaching  the  bar;  I  had  good  pri 
mary  training,  but  in  reality  I  had  to  educate  myself,  and 
in  the  work  of  a  teacher  I  saw  a  hope  to  lead  me  onward." 

"Came  within  one  of  letting  them  fight  to  a  finish,"  said 
the  old  man,  stepping  into  the  room. 

"Limuel,  why  will  you  always  humiliate  me?"  his  wife 
asked,  placing  a  chair  for  him. 

"Humiliate  you!  Bless  your  life,  I  wouldn't  humiliate 
you.  The  only  troubble  is  that  you  are  tryin'  to  make 


THE  JUCKLltfS  89 

me  fit  a  garment  you've  got,  ruther  than  to  make  the  gar 
ment  fit  me.  I  ain't  doin'  no  harm,  Susan,  and  it's  my 
way,  and  you  can't  very  well  knock  the  spots  off'en  a  leop 
ard  nur  skin  an  Etheopian.  Here  comes  Alf." 

The  son  was  a  young  fellow  of  good  size,  shapely,  and 
with  his  mother's  black  eyes.  Guinea  introduced  me  to 
him,  and  at  once  I  felt  that  I  should  like  to  win  his  friend 
ship.  The  old  man  explained  my  presence  there.  "And 
now,"  said  he,  "I  want  you  to  go  over  to  old  Perdue's 
with  him  after  dinner  and  see  if  any  arrangements  can  be 
made.  He's  goin'  to  board  with  us,  and  I  want  to  tell  you 
right  now  that  he  is  from  good  stock ;  his  grandaddy  was 
the  captain  of  the  company  that  my  daddy  fit  in  durin' 
the  Creek  war,  and  from  what!  I  learn  I  don't  reckon  there 
was  ever  sich  fightin'  before  nor  since.  What  are  they 
doin'  over  at  the  General's?" 

"Nothing  much,"  Alf  answered.  "They  started  to  plow 
this  morning,  but  it  is  still  most  too  wet." 

"Was  Millie  at  home?"  Guinea  asked. 

"I  think  so,  but  I  suppose  you  know  that  Chid  isn't." 

"Never  mind  that,"  the  old  man  spoke  up.  "Leave  all 
cuttin'  and  slashin'  to  folks  that  ain't  no  kin  to  each  other. 
You've  been  to  dinner,  have  you,  Alf?  Well,  hitch  the 
mare  to  the  buckboard  and  go  with  this  gentleman  over 
to  old  Perdue's." 


THE  JUCKLINS 


CHAPTER  IV. 

At  the  end  of  the  passage,  facing  the  ravine,  I  stood 
and  talked  to  Guinea,  while  Alf  was  hitching  the  mare 
to  the  buck-board.  The  sun  was  well  over  to  the  west, 
pouring  upon  us,  and  in  the  strong  light  I  noted  the  clear, 
health-hue  of  her  complexion.  A  guinea  chicken,  swift 
and  graceful,  ran  round  the  corner  of  the  house,  and,  nod 
ding  toward  the  fowl,  I  said:  "I  am  talking  to  her  name 
sake  and  she  is  jealous." 

I  thought  that  the  shadow  of  a  pout  crossed  her  lips,  but 
she  smiled  and  replied:  "If  my  real  name  were  not  so 
ugly  I'd  insist  upon  people  calling  me  by  it.  I  hate  nick 
names." 

"But  sometimes  they  are  appropriate,"  I  rejoined. 

"But  when  they  are,"  she  said,  laughing,  "they  never 
stick.  It's  the  disagreeable  nickname  that  remains 
with  us." 

"Is  that  the  philosophy  you  learned  at  Raleigh?"  I 
asked. 

She  shrugged  her  shapely  shoulders,  laughed  low  in 
her  throat  and  answered:  "I  haven't  learned  philosophy 
at  all.  It  doesn't  take  much  of  a  stock  of  learning  for  a 
girl  who  lives  away  out  here." 


THE  JUCKLINS  41 

"But  she  might  strive  to  learn  in  order  to  be  fitted  for 
a  better  life,  believing  that  it  will  surely  come." 

"How  encouraging  you  are,  Mr.  Hawes.  After  a  while 
you  may  persuade  me  that  I  am  really  glad  that  you 
came." 

"You  have  already  made  me  glad,"  I  replied. 

"Have  I?  Then  mind  that  I  don't  make  you  sorry. 
Alf's  waiting  for  you." 

As  we  drove  toward  Perdue's  I  wondered  what  could 
have  caused  old  man  Jucklin's  change  of  manner  at  the 
time  he  had  spoken  of  sending  his  daughter  away  to  be 
educated.  Surely,  he  could  not  deplore  the  grace  and 
refinement  which  this  schooling  had  given  her.  Would 
it  be  well  to  ask  Alf?  No;  he  could  but  regard  such  a 
question  as  a  direct  impertinence. 

The  mare  trotted  briskly  and  the  rush  of  cool  air  was 
delicious.  The  road  was  crooked,  holding  in  its  elbows 
bits  of  scenery  unsuspected  until  we  were  upon  them, 
moss  growing  under  great  rocks,  weeping  in  eternal 
shade,  a  bit  of  water  blazing  in  the  sun,  a  hickory  bottom, 
where  squirrels  were  barking;  and  from  everywhere  came 
the  thrilling  incense  of  spring. 

Alf,  though  a  farmer,  had  not  the  stoop  of  overwork, 
nor  that  sullenness  that  often  comes  from  a  life-long  and 
close  association  with  the  soil ;  he  was  chatty,  talked  to  his 
mare,  talked  to  me  and  whistled  to  himself.  He  pointed 
out  a  cave  wherein  British  soldiers  had  been  forced  to 
take  refuge  to,  save  themselves  from  the  pursuit  of  victori- 


42  THE  JUCKLINS 

ous  patriots,  but  what  they  had  supposed  was  a  refuge 
was,  indeed,  a  trap,  for  the  patriots  smoked  them  out  and 
took  them  to  General  Green's  camp.  We  drove  upon  a 
hill  top,  and,  looking  across  a  valley,  I  saw  a  large  brick 
house  on  a  hill  not  far  beyond.  And  I  recognized  it  as 
a  place  that  I  had  seen  earlier  in  the  day.  "It's  where 
General  Lundsford  lives,"  said  Alf,  following  my  eyes  with 
his  own.  "We  go  by  there.  He  used  to  own  a  good  many 
negroes  and  some  of  them  still  hang  about  him.  Most 
of  his  land  is  poor,  but  enough  of  it  is  rich  to  make  him 
well  off.  And  proud !  He's  proud  as  a  blooded  horse.  Most 
of  the  very  few  old-timers  that  are  left  in  this  part  of  the 
country.  We  are  getting  somewhat  Yankeefied,  espe 
cially  away  over  to  the  east  where  so  many  northern 
people  come  of  a  winter.  But  he  doesn't  take  much  to  it 

—still  cuts  his  wheat  with  a  cradle." 

• 
We  drove  down  into  the  valley,  crossed  a  rude  stone 

bridge,  and  slowly  went  up  the  other  side.  The  mare, 
brisk  from  having  been  pent  up,  showed  a  disposition  to 
quicken  her  pace,  but  Alf  held  her  back,  searching  with 
his  strong  eyes  the  yard,  the  summer  house  in  the  garden 
hard  by  and  the  orchard  off  to  the  left.  I  looked  at  him 
and  his  face  was  eager  and  hard  set,  but  his  eyes,  though 
strained,  were  soft  and  glowing.  I  spoke  to  him,  but  he 
heeded  me  not,  but  just  at  that  moment  he  drew  himself 
straighter  and  "gazed  toward  the  house.-  And  I  saw  a 
woman  crossing  the  yard.  The  road  ran  close 
to  the  low,  rough  stone  wall,  and  when  we  had 


THE  JUCKLINS  43 

come  opposite  the  gate  Alf  stopped  the  mare  and 
got  out  to  buckle  a  strap.  But  I  noticed  that  he  was  look 
ing  more  at  the  house  than  at  the  strap.  A  broad  porch, 
or  gallery,  as  we  term  it,  ran  nearly  half  way  round  the 
house,  and  out  upon  this  a  girl  stepped  and  stood  looking 
over  us  at  the  hills  far  away.  I  saw  Alf  blush,  and  the 
next  moment  he  had  sprung  upon  the  buck-board  and 
was  driving  off  almost  furiously.  I  wondered  why  he 
should  be  afraid  of  her.  He  was  not  overgrown,  not  awk 
ward,  but  lithe,  and  I  knew  that  he  loved  her  and  that  his 
own  emotion  had  frightened  him. 

Perdue  lived  but  a  short  distance  beyond  the  General's 
place,  und  soon  we  were  there,  talking  to  the  old  fellow 
out  at  the  fence.  When  I  told  him  my  business  he  looked 
sharply  at  me,  appearing  to  measure  me  from  head  to 
foot;  and  he  said  I  was,  no  doubt,  the  man  he  had  been 
longing  to  see.  "And  now,"  said  he,  after  we  had  talked 
for  a  time,  "if  you  are  willing  to  take  this  school  and  go 
ahead  with  it,  all  right.  I  am  determined  that  the  boys 
and  girls  of  this  community  shall  get  an  education  even 
if  they  choke  the  creek  with  teachers.  If  I  had  full  swing 
I'd  raise  a  lot  of  men  and  go  around  and  club  the  big 
boys.  Oh,  it  hasn't  been  this  way  very  long.  We've 
had  first-rate  schools  here,  but  those  devilish  Aimes  boys 
are  so  full  of  the  old  Harry — but  we'll  fix  'em.  The  ground 
will  be  all  right  for  plowin'  to-morrow,  and  the  big  boys 
will  have  to  work  until  the  corn  is  laid  by,  but  I  reckon 
you'll  get  a  pretty  fair  turn-out.  There's  enough  money 


44  THE  JUCKLINS 

appropriated  to  have  a  rattlin'  good  school,  and  if  you'll 
stick  by  me  we'll  have  it." 

I  told  him  that  I  would  stick  by  him.  "All  right,"  said 
he,  "see  that  you  do.  Let  me  see.  This  is  Friday.  You 
hold  yourself  in  readiness  to  begin  Monday  mornin',  and 
to-morrow  I  will  ride  around  the  neighborhood  and 
spread  the  news." 

So  that  was  settled.  Briskly  we  drove  away,  and  again 
upon  nearing  the  house  of  the  old  General,  Alf  pulled  the 
mare  back  into  a  walk.  This  time,  though,  he  did  not 
stop,  but  as  we  slowly  passed  he  swept  the  house  and  the 
yard  with  his  eager  glance.  The  sun  was  down  when  we 
reached  home.  How  long  the  day  had  been,  what  a  stretch 
of  time  lay  between  the  going  down  of  the  sun  now  and 
its  rising,  when  I  had  shouldered  my  trunk  at  the  railway 
station ! 

As  I  was  getting  down  in  front  of  the  door  I  heard 
Mr.  Jucklin  calling  me,  and  when  I  answered  he 
came  forward  out  of  the  passage  and  said  that  he  wanted 
to  see  me  a  moment.  He  led  the  way  and  I  followed  him 
into  the  dark  shadow  of  a  tree.  "I  forgot  to  tell  you 
not  to  say  anything  about  that,"  said  he. 

"About  what?"  I  asked. 

"About  wallowin'  him — the  old  General.  He  requested 
me  not  to  mention  it,  bein'  so  proud,  and  I  told  him  that 
I  wouldn't,  and  I  don't  know  what  made  me  speak  of  it 
to-day,  but  I  did." 

"Oh,  1  won't  mention  it,"  I  spoke  up  rather  sharply, 


THE  JUCKLINS  45 

for  I  was  disappointed  that  he  had  not  told  me  something 
of  importance. 

"All  right.  And  I  am  much  obleeged  to  you.  He  is  one 
of  the  proudest  men  in  the  world  and  he  don't  want  any 
body  to  suspect  that  any  feller  ever  wallowed  him;  but  I 
want  to  tell  you  right  now  that  I  have  wallowed  a  good 
many  of  'em  in  my  time.  Are  you  goin'  to  teach  the 
school?" 

"Yes,  the  arrangements  have  been  made,  and  I  am  to 
begin  work  Monday  morning." 

"Good  enough.  Well,  we'll  go  on  in  now  and  eat  a 
snack,  for  I  reckon  the  women  folks  have  got  it  about 
ready." 

We  went  early  to  bed.  The  house  was  but  a  story  and 
a  half  high,  and  I  was  to  room  with  Alf,  up  close  to  the 
clap-board  roof.  I  could  not  stand  straight,  except  in  the 
middle  of  the  apartment,  but  I  was  comfortable,  for  I  had 
a  good  bed,  and  there  was  plenty  of  <air  coming  in  through 
two  large  windows,  one  on  each  side  of  the  chimney  at 
the  end,  toward  the  south.  While  the  dawn  was  drowsi 
est,  just  at  the  time  when  it  seems  that  one  moment  of 
dreamy  dozing  is  worth  a  whole  night  of  soundest  sleep, 
Alf  got  up  to  go  afield  to  his  pk>w,  and  as  the  joints  of 
the  stairway  were  creaking  under  him  as  he  went  down 
I  turned  over  for  another  nap,  thankful  that  after  all  the 
teaching  of  a  school  was  not  ths.  hardest  lot  in  life.  And 
I  was  deliciously  dreaming  when  Guinea  called  me  to 
breakfast. 


46  THE  JUCKL1NS 

I  spent  the  most  of  the  day  in  my  room,  getting  ready 
for  my  coming  work.  Against  the  chimney  I  built  a  shelf 
and  put,  my  books  upon  it;  I  turned  <a  large  box  into  a 
writing  table,  and  of  a  barrel  I  fashioned  an  easy-chair. 
My  surroundings  were  rude,  but  I  was  pleased  with  them; 
indeed,  I  had  never  found  myself  so  pleasantly  placed. 
And  when  Alf  came  up  at  night  he  looked  about  him  and 
with  a  smile  remarked:  "You  must  own  that  lamp  that 
we  read  about.  Wish  you  would  rub  it  again  and  get  my 
corn  out  of  the  grass."  He  looked  tired  and  I  wondered 
why  he  did  not  go  to  bed,  but  he  strode  up  and  down  the 
room,  smoking  his  pipe.  He  was  silent  and  thoughtful, 
refilling  his  pipe  as  soon  as  the  tobacco  was  burned  out; 
but  sometimes  he  would  talk,  though  what  he  said  I  felt 
was  aimless. 

"I've  some  heavier  tobacco  than  that,"  I  said. 

''This  will  do,  though  it  is  pretty  light.  Raised  on  an 
old  hill." 

He  sat  down  and  continued  to  pull  at  his  pipe,  though 
the  fire  was  out.  He  leaned  with  his  elbow  on  the  table; 
he  moved  as  if  his  position  were  uncomfortable;  he  got 
up,  went  to  the  window,  looked  out,  came  back,  re 
sumed  his  seat  and  after  looking  at  the  floor  for  a  few 
moments  said  that  he  thought  that  it  must  be  going  to 
rain. 

"Perhaps  so,"  I  replied,  "but  that's  not  what  you  wanted 
to  say." 

He  gave  me  a  sharp  glance,  looked  down  and  then 


THE  JUCKLINS  # 

asked :    "How  do  you  know ?" 

"I  know;  because  I  can  see  and  because  I'm  not  a  fool." 

"Anybody  ever  call  you  a  fool?"  he  asked,  with  a  sad 
laugh.  He  leaned  far  back  and  looked  up  at  the  clap 
boards. 

"That  has  nothing  to  do  with  it,  Alf.  Pardon  me.  Mr. 
Jucklin,  I  should  have  said.  The  truth  is,  it  seems  that 
I  have  known  you  a  long  time." 

"And  when  you  feel  that  way  about .  nan,"  he  quickly 
spoke  up,,  "you  make  no  mistake  in  accepting  him  as  a 
friend.  Call  me  Alf.  What's  your  first  name?"  I  told  him, 
and  he  added:  "And  I'll  call  you  Bill.  No;  the  truth  is 
I  didn't  care  to  say  that  I  thought  it  was  going  to  rain ;  I 
don't  give  a  snap  for  rain,  except  the  rain  that  is  pouring 
on  my  heart.  You  remember  that  girl  that  came  out  upon 
the  gallery.  I  know  you  do,  for  no  man  could  forget  her. 
You  know  that  Guinea  asked  me  if  Millie  was  at  home. 
Well,  that  was  Millie  Lundsford,  the  old  General's  daugh 
ter.  We  have  lived  close  together  all  our  lives,  but  I  have 
never  known  her  very  well,  and  even  now  I  wouldn't  go 
there  on  a  dead-set  visit.  She  and  Guinea  went  off  to 
school  together  and  are  good  friends.  Guinea  tries  to 
plague  me  about  her  at  times,  not  knowing  that  I  really 
love  her.  I  couldn't  go  off  to  school,  didn't  care  any  too 
much  for  education,  but  since  that  girl  came  home  and 
I  got  better  acquainted  with  her  I  have  felt  that  I  would 
give  half  my  life  to  know  books,  so  that  I  could  talk  to 
her;  and  since  then  I  have  been  studying,  with  Guinea  to 


48  THE  JUCKLIffS 

i 

help  me.  And  you  don't  know  how  glad  I  was  when  J 
heard  that  you  had  come  here  to  teach  school,  for  I  want 
to  study  under  you.  But  secretly,"  he  added.  "I  can't  go 
to  the  school-house;  I  don't  want  her  to  know  that  I  am  so 
ignorant." 

I  reached  over  and  took  hold  of  his  hand.  "AH,  to 
teach  you  shall  be  one  of  my  duties.  But  don't  put  your 
self  down  as  ignorant,  for  you  are  not." 

He  grasped  my  hand,  and,  looking  straight  into  my 
eyes,  said:  "I  wish  I  knew  as  much  and  was  as  good- 
looking  as  you.  Then  I  wouldn't  be  afraid  to  go  to  her 
and  ask  her  to  let  me  win  her  love,  if  I  could.  To-morrow 
you  go  over  to  the  General's,  pretending  that  you  want 
to  get  his  advice  about  the  school,  and  I  will  go  with  you. 
Hang  it,  Bill,  you  may  be  in  love  one  of  these  days." 

"Why,  Alf,  I  don't  see  why  either  of  ug  should  be  afraid 
to  go  to  the  General's  house.  Go?  Of  course,  we  will. 
But  you  make  me  laugh  when  you  say  that  if  you  were 
only  as  good-looking  as  I  am.  Let  me  tell  you  some 
thing."  I  briefly  told  him  the  uneventful  story  of  my  life, 
that  ridicule  /had  found  me  while  yet  I  was  a  toddler  and 
had  held  me  up  as  its  target.  "You  might  have  grown 
too  fast,"  he  remarked  when  I  had  concluded,  "but  you 
have  caught  up  with  yourself.  To  tell  you  the  truth,  you 
would  be  picked  out  from  among  a  thousand  men.  Where 
did  you  get  all  those  books?  I  don't  see  how  you  brought 
with  you  in  that  trunk,  and  with  your  other  things." 

"The  other  things  didn't  take  up  much  room,"  I  an- 


THE  JUCKLINS  49 

swered,  and,  turning  to  the  books,  I  began  to  tell  him 
something  about  them,  but  I  soon  saw  that  his  mind  was 
far  away.  "Yes,  we  will  go  over  there  to-morrow/'  said 
I,  and  his  mind  flew  back. 

"And  walk  right  in  as  if  we  owned  half  the  earth,"  said 
he,  but  I  knew  that  'he  felt  not  this  lordly  courage,  knew 
that  already  he  was  quaking.  "Oh,  I'll  go  right  in  with 
you,"  he  said.  "You  lead  the  way  and  I'll  be  with  you." 

When  I  had  gone  to  bed  a  remark  that  he  had  made 
was  sweeping  like  a  wind  through  my  mind:  "Hang  it, 
Bill,  you  may  be  in  love  one  of  these  days."  I  was  already 
in  love — in  love  with  Guinea. 


THE  JUCKLINS 


CHAPTER  V. 

Alf  was  still  asleep  when  I  arose  from  my  bed  the  next 
morning.  I  stood  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  and  looked 
back  at  his  handsome,  though  sun-browned  face,  and  I 
felt  a  strange  and  strong  sympathy  for  him,  but  I  had 
not  begun  to  agonize  in  my  love ;  it  was  so  new  that  I  was 
dazzled.  When  I  went  down  stairs  Guinea  was  feeding  the 
chickens  from  the  kitchen  window,  and  the  old  man  was 
walking  about  the  yard,  with  his  slouch  hat  pulled  down 
to  shut  out  the  slanting  glare  of  the  sun.  But  he  saw  me 
and,  calling  me,  said  that  he  would  now  show  me  his  beau 
ties.  And  just  then  I  heard  Guinea's  voice:  "If  he  starts 
to  make  them  fight  you  come  right  away  and  leave  him, 
Mr.  Hawes,"  she  -said.  "We  don't  allow  him  to  fight  them 
on  Sunday." 

"Miss  Smartjacket,"  the  old  man  spoke  up,  "I  hadn't 
said  a  word  about  makin'  'em  fight.  Hawes,  these 
women  folks  don't  want  a  man  to  have  no  fun  at  all.  As 
long  as  a  man  is  at  work  it's  all  right  with  the  women; 
they  can  stand  to  see  him  delve  till  he  drops,  but 
the  minit  he  wants  to  have  a  little  fun,  why,  they  begin 
to  mowl  about  it.  Of  course,  I'm  not  goin'  to  let  'em  fight 
on  Sunday.  But  a  preacher  would  eat  one  of  'em 


THE  JUCKLINS  SI 

on  Sunday.  All  days  belong  to  'em.  It's  die  dog  or  eat 
the  hatchet  when  they  come  round.  And  yet,  as  I  tell  you, 
I  believe  in  the  Book  from  kiver  to  kiver.  Step  out  here, 
Hawes." 

I  thought  that  I  received  from  Guinea  a  smile  of  assent, 
and  I  followed  him.  The  enclosure  wherein  he  kept  his 
chickens  was  almost  as  strong  as  a  "stockade."  The  old 
man  unfastened  a  padlock  and  bade  me  enter.  I  stepped 
inside,  and  when  the  master  had  followed  me  he  was 
greeted  with  many  a  cluck  and  scratching,  the  welcome 
of  two  game  cocks  in  a  wire  coop,  divided  into  two  apart 
ments  by  a  solid  board  partition.  "I  jest  wanted  you  to 
look  at  'em  and  size  'em  merely  for  your  own  satisfaction," 
said  the  old  man,  fondly  looking  upon  his  shimmering 
pets.  "This  red  one  over  here  is  Sam,  and  that  dominecker 
rascal  is  Bob.  Ah,  Lord,  you  don't  know  what  comfort 
there  is  in  a  chicken,  and  how  a  preacher  can  eat  a  game 
rooster  is  beyond  my  understandin'.  But  I'm  with  him, 
you  understand,  from  kiver  to  kiver.  Keep  quiet  there, 
boys;  no  fight  to-day.  Must  have  some  respect,  you 
know." 

He  took  a  grain  of  corn  from  his  pocket,  placed  it  be 
tween  his  teeth,  and  with  a  grin  on  his  face  got  down  on 
his  knees  and  held  his  mouth  near  the  bars  of  Sam's  cage. 
The  rooster  plucked  out  the  grain  of  corn,  and  Bob,  watch 
ing  the  performance,  began  to  prance  about  in  jealous 
rage.  "Never  you  mind,  Bob,"  said  the  old  man,  getting 
up  and  dusting  his  knees.  "I  know  your  tricks.  Held 


02  THE  JUCKLINS 

one  out  to  you  that  way  not  long  ago,  and  I  wish  I  may 
never  stir  agin  if  you  didn't  take  a  crack  at  my  eye,  and 
if  I  hadn't  ducked  I'd  be  one-eyed  right  now.  But  they 
are  callin'  us  to  breakfust.  Bound  to  interfere  with  a  man 
one  way  or  another." 

It  was  with  great  care  that  Alf  prepared  himself  to  go 
with  me  to  the  General's  house.  Out  under  a  tree  in  the 
yard  he  placed  a  mirror  on  a  chair  and  there  he  sat  and 
shaved  himself.  Then  he  went  upstairs  to  put  on  a  suit!  of 
clothes  which  never  had  been  worn,  and  anon  I  heard  him 
calling  his  mother  to  help  him  find  buttons  and  neckwear 
that  had  been  misplaced.  And  he  shouted  to  me  not  to 
be  impatient,  that  he  was  doing  the  best  he  could.  Im 
patient!  I  was  sitting  in  the  passage,  leaning  back  against 
the  wall,  -and  near  the  steps  Guinea  stood,  looking  far  out 
over  the  ravine.  She  had  donned  a  garb  of  bright  calico, 
with  long,  green-stemmed  flowers  stamped  upon  it,  and 
I  thought  that  of  all  the  dresses  I  had  ever  beheld  this 
was  the  most  beautiful  and  becoming.  She  hummed  a  tune 
and  looking  about  pretended  to  be  surprised  to  see  me 
sittting  there,  and  for  aught  I  know  the  astonishment 
might  have  been  real,  for  I  had  made  no  noise  in  placing 
my  chair  against  the  wall. 

"I  ought  not  to  be  humming  a  dance  tune  on  Sunday," 
she  said,  stepping  back  and  standing  against  the  opposite 
wall,  with  her  hands  behind  her. 

"I  don't  see  how  the  day  can  make  music  harmful,"  I 
replied. 


THE  JUCKLINS  53 

"I'ne  day  can't  make  music  harmful,"  she  rejoined. 
"But  I  can't  sing.  Sometimes  when  I  can't  express  what 
I  am  thinking  about  I  hum  it.  How  long  are  you  and 
Alf  going  to  be  away?" 

"As  long  as  it  suits  him,"  I  answered.  "I  have  decided 
to  have  no  voice  as  to  the  length  of  our  stay." 

"Then  you  are  simply  going  to  accommodate  him. 
How  kind  of  you.  And  have  you  always  so  much  con 
sideration  for  others?  If  you  have  you  may  find  your 
patience  strained  if  you  stay  here." 

"To  stand  any  strain  that  may  be  placed  upon  our  pa 
tience  is  a  virtue,"  I  remarked — sententious  pedagogue — 
and  she  lifted  her  hands,  clasped  them  behind  her  head, 
looked  at  me  and  laughed,  a  music  sweet  and  low.  Just 
then  Alf  came  out  upon  the  passage,  looking  down  at  him 
self,  first  one  side  and  then  the  other;  and  it  was  with  a 
feeling  of  close  kinship  to  envy  that  I  regarded  his  new 
clothes.  He  apologized  for  having  kept  me  waiting  so 
long,  but  in  truth  I  could  have  told  him  that  I  should  have 
liked  to  wait  there  for  hours,  looking  at  the  graceful  figure 
of  that  girl,  standing  with  her  hands  clasped  behind  her 
brown  head. 

The  distance  was  not  great  and  we  had  decided  to  walk, 
and  across  a  meadow,  purpling  with  coming  bloom,  we 
took  a  nearer  way.  I  said  to  Alf  that  one  might  think  that 
he  was  a  stranger  at  the  General's  house,  and  he  replied: 
"In  one  way  I  am.  I  have  been  there  many  a  time,  it  is 
true,  but  always  to  help  do  something." 


34  THE  JUCKLIffS 

"Is  the  family  so  exclusive,  then?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  they  are  as  friendly  as  any  people  you  ever  saw, 
but,  of  course,  I  naturally  place  them  high  above  me.  The 
old  General  doesn't  appear  to  know  that  I  have  grown 
to  be  a  man ;  always  talks  to  me  as  if  I  were  a'  boy — wants 
to  know  what  father's  doing  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  He 
doesn't  give  a  snap  what  father's  doing." 

"And  the  girl.  How  does  she  talk  to  you?"  It  was 
several  moments  before  he  answered  me. 

"I  was  just  trying  to  think,"  he  said.  "To  tell  you 
the  truth,  I  don't  know  how  she  talks  to  me.  I  can't  recall 
anything  she  has  ever  said  to  me.  She  calls  me  Alf  and 
I  call  her  Miss  Millie,  and  we  laugh  at  some  fool  thing  and 
that's  about  all  there  is  to  it.  But  I  know  that  the  old 
man  would  never  be  willing  for  me  to  marry  her.  He  is 
looking  pretty  high  for  her  or  he  wouldn't  have  spent  so 
much  money  on  her  education." 

"But,  of  course,  the  girl  will  have  something  to  say," 
I  suggested. 

"I  don't  know  as  to  that,"  he  replied;  "but,. of  course,  I 
hope  so.  You  can't  tell  about  girls — at  least,  I  can't.  The 
old  General  married  rather  late  in  life  and  has  but  two 
children.  His  wife  died  several  years  ago.  Chydister,  the 
boy,  or,  rather,  the  man — for  he's  about  my  age — is  off  at 
a  medical  college.  He  doesn't  strike  me  as  being  so  alfired 
smart,  but  they  say  that  he's  got  learning  away  up  in  G. 
The  old  man  says  that  he  is  going  to  make  him  the  best 
doctor  in  the  whole  country,  if  colleges  can  do  it,  and  I 


THE  JUCKLINS  » 

reckon  they  can.  He  and  I  have  always  got  along  pretty 
well;  he  used  to  stay  at  our  house  a  good  deal." 

We  crossed  the  creek,  by  leaping  from  one  stone  to  an 
other,  and  pursued  a  course  along  a  rotting  rail  fence, 
covered  with  vines.  And  from  over  in  the  low  ground 
came  the  "sqush"  of  the  cows  as  they  strode  through  the 
rank  and  sappy  clover.  We  crossed  a  hill  whereon  stood 
a  deserted  negro  "quarter" — the  moldering  mark  of  a 
life  that  is  now  dreamy  and  afar  off — and  after  crossing 
another  valley  slowly  ascended  the  rounding  bulge  of 
ground,  capped  by  the  home  of  the  General.  Alf  had 
begun  to  falter  and  hang  back,  and  when  I  sought  gently 
to  encourage  him  he  remarked :  "But  you  must  remember 
that  this  is  the  first  time  that  I  have  ever  been  here  with 
new  clothes  on,  and  I  want  to  tell  you  that  this  makes  a 
big  difference." 

"It  has  been  some  time  since  I  went  anywhere  with 
new  clothes  on,"  I  replied,  which  set  him  laughing;  but  his 
merriment  was  shut  off  when  I  opened  the  gate.  Behind 
the  house,  where  the  ground  sloped  toward  the  orchard, 
there  were  a  number  of  cabins,  old,  but  not  deserted,  for 
negro  children  were  playing  about  the  doors  and  from 
somewhere  within  came  the  low  drone  of  a  half-religious, 
half-cornshucking  melody.  An  old  dog  got  up  from  under 
a  tree,  but,  repenting  of  the  exertion,  lay  down  again;  a 
turkey  loudly  gobbbled,  a  peacock  croaked,  and  a  tall, 
bulky,  old  man  came  out  upon  the  porch. 

"Walk  right  in,"  he  called,  and  sboulhag  back  into  the 


66  THE  JUCKLINS 

hallway  he  commanded  some  one  to  bring  out  three 
chairs.  And  even  before  we  had  ascended  the  stone  steps 
the  command  had  been  obeyed  by  a  negro  boy.  "Glad 
to  meet  you,  sir,"  he  said  when  Alf  had  introduced  me. 
"You  have  come  to  teach  the  school,  I  believe.  Old  man 
Perdue  was  over  and  told  me  about  it.  Sit  down.  What's 
your  father  doing,  Alf?" 

"Can't  do  anything  to-day,"  Alf  answered,  glancing 
at  me. 

"I  suppose  not.  All  the  folks  well?  Glad  to  hear  it," 
he  added  before  Alf  could  answer  him.  "It's  been  pretty 
wet,  but  it's  drying  up  all  right." 

He  wore  a  dressing  gown,  befigured  with  purple  gourds, 
was  bare-headed  and  I  thought  that  he  wore  a  wig,  for 
his  hair  was  thick  and  was  curled  under  at  the  back  of  his 
neck.  His  face,  closely  shaved,  was  full  and  red;  his  lips 
were  thick  and  his  mouth  was  large.  I  could  see  that  he 
was  of  immense  importance,  a  dominant  spirit  of  the  Old 
South,  and  my  reading  told  me  that  his  leading  ancestor 
had  come  to  America  as  the  master  of  a  Virginia  planta 
tion. 

"Henry!"  the  old  General  called.  "Fetch  me  my  pipe. 
Henry!" 

"Comin',"  a  voice  cried  from  within.  His  pipe  was 
brought  and  when  it  had  been  lighted  with  a  coal  which 
Henry  carried  in  the  palm  of  his  hand,  rolling  it  about  from 
side  to  side,  the  General  puffed  for  a  few  moments  and 
then,  looking  at  me,  asked  if  I  found  school-teaching  to  be 


THE  JUCKLINS  57 

a  very  profitable  employment. 

"Ti.e  money  part  of  it  has  been  but  of  minor  considera 
tion,"  I  answered.  "My  aim  is  to  become  a  lawyer,  and 
I  am  teaching  school  to  help  me  toward  that  end." 

He  cleared  his  throat  with  a  loud  rasp.  "I  remember/' 
said  he,  "that  a  man  came  here  once  from  the  North  with 
pretty  much  the  same  idea.  It  was  before  the  war.  We 
got  him  up  a  school,  and  by  the  black  ooze  in  the  veins  of 
old  Satan,  it  wasn't  long  before  he  was  trying  to  persuade 
the  negroes  to  run  away  from  us.  I  had  a  feather  bed  that 
wasn't  in  use  at  the  time,  and  old  Mills  over  here  had  a 
first-rate  article  of  tar  on  hand,  and  when  we  got  through 
with  the  gentleman  he  looked  like  an  arctic  explorer. 
Where  are  you  from,  sir?" 

I  told  him,  and  then  he  asked:  "The  name  is  all  right, 
and  the  location  is  good.  My  oldest  brother  knew  a  Cap 
tain  Hawes  in  the  Creek  war." 

"He  was  my  grandfather,"  I  replied.  He  looked  at  me, 
still  pulling  at  his  pipe,  and  said:  "Then,  sir,  I  am,  indeed, 
glad  to  see  you.  Alf,  what's  your  father  doing?" 

"Nothing,  sir;  it's  Sunday,"  Alf  answered,  blushing. 
The  old  General  looked  at  him,  cleared  his  throat  and  said : 
"Yes,  yes.  Folks  all  well?" 

I  heard  the  door  open  and  close  and  I  saw  Alf  move, 
even  as  his  father  had  moved  when  he  came  upon  me 
in  the  road.  I  heard  light  foot-falls  in  the  hall,  and  then 
out  stepped  a  girl.  She  smiled  and  nodded  at  Alf  and 
the  General  introduced  me  to  her.  Alf  got  up,  almost 


58  THE  JUCKLINS 

tumbled  out  of  his  chair  and  asked  her  to  sit  down.  "Oh, 
no,  keep  your  seat,"  she  said.  "I'm  not  going  to  stay  but 
a  minute."  She  walked  over  to  a  post  and,  leaning  against 
it,  turned  and  looked  back  at  us.  She  wore  a  flower  in 
her  hair,  and  in  her  hand  she  held  a  calacanthus  bud.  She 
was  rather  small,  with  a  petulant  sort  of  beauty,  but  I  did 
not  think  that  she  could  be  compared  with  Guinea,  for  all 
of  Alf's  raving  over  her.  Her  cheeks  were  dimpled,  and 
well  she  knew  it,  for  she  smiled  whenever  anything  was 
said,  and  when  no  word  had  been  spoken  she  smiled  at  the 
silence. 

"Alf,  what  has  become  of  Guinea?"  she  asked.  "It 
seems  an  age  since  I  saw  her." 

"She  was  over  here  last,  I  think,"  Alf  answered. 

"Ahem — m — "  .came  from  the  General.  "You'll  be 
counting  meals  on  each  other,  like  the  Yankees,  after 
a  while,"  he  said.  "Why  don't  you  quit  your  foolishness; 
and  if  you  want  to  see  each  other,  go  and  see.  I  don't 
know  what  your  feelings  are  in  the  matter,  sir,"  he  added, 
turning  to  me,  "but  I  don't  see  much  good  in  this  so-called 
public  school  system.  And  of  all  worthless  things  under 
heaven  it  is  a  negro  that  has  caught  up  a  smattering  of 
education.  God  knows  he's  trifling  enough  at  best,  but 
teach  him  to  read  and  he's  utterly  worthless.  I  sent  a 
negro  to  the  postoffice  some  time  ago,  and  he  came  along 
back  with  my  newspaper  spread  out  before  him,  reading 
it  on  the  horse.  And  if  it  hadn't  been  for  Millie  I  would 
have  ripped  the  hide  off  him." 


THE  JUCKLINS  59 

"He  didn't  know  any  better,"  the  girl  spoke  up.  "Poor 
thing,  you  scared  him  nearly  to  death." 

"Yes,  and  I  immediately  gave  him  the  best  coat  I  had  to 
square  myself,  not  with  him,  but  with  myself,"  said  the 
old  man.  "But  I  hold  that  if  the  negro,  or  anyone  else, 
for  that  matter,  is  to  be  a  servant,  let  him  be  a  servant.  I 
don't  want  a  man  to  plow  for  me  simply  because  he  can 
read.  Confound  him,  I  don't  care  wihether  he  can  read  or 
not.  I  want  him  to  plow.  When  I  choose  my  friends  it  is 
another  matter.  Your  father  go  to  church  to-day,  AH?" 

"I  don't  know,  sir,"  Alf  answered,  moving  about  in  his 
chair,  and  then  in  his  embarrassment  he  got  up  and  stam- 
meringly  begged  the  girl  to  sit  down. 

"Why,  what's  all  this  trouble  and  nonsense  about,"  the 
General  asked,  looking  first  at  the  girl  and  then  at  Alf. 
"  'Od  zounds,  there  oughtn't  to  be  any  trouble  about  a 
chair.  Fifty  of  them  back  in  there." 

Alf  dropped  back  and  the  girl  laughed  with  such  gen 
uine  heartiness  that  I  thought  much  better  of  her,  but  still 
I  did  not  think  that  she  was  at  all  to  be  compared  with 
Guinea.  The  General  yelled  for  Henry  to  bring  him  an 
other  coal,  and  when  his  pipe  had  been  relighted  he  turned 
to  me  and  said:  "You  don't  find  the  old  North  State  as 
she  once  was,  sir.  Ah,  Lord,  the  ruin  that  has  gone  on 
in  this  world  since  I  can  remember.  And  yet  they  say 
we  are  becoming  more  civilized.  Zounds,  sir,  do  you  call 
it  civilization  to  see  hundreds  of  fields  turned  out  to  per 
simmon  bushes  and  broom  sedge?  Look  over  there," 


60  THE  JUGKLINS 

he  added,  waving  his  hand.  "I  have  seen  the  time  when 
that  was  almost  a  garden.  What  do  you  want?"  The 
last  remark  was  addressed  to  the  negro  boy  who  had  sud 
denly  appeared.  "Dinner?  Yes,  yes.  Come,  Mr.  Hawes, 
and  you,  Alf.  This  way.  Get  out !"  A  dog  had  come  be 
tween  him  and  the  door.  "Devilish  dogs  are  about  to  take 
the  place,  but  they  are  no  account,  not  one  of  them.  Lie 
around  here  and  let  the  rabbits  eat  up  the  pea  vines.  Even 
the  dogs  have  degenerated  along  with  everything  else." 

I  walked  with  the  General,  and,  looking  back,  I  was 
pleased  to  see  that  Alf  had  summoned  courage  enough  to 
follow  along  beside  the  girl.  We  were  shown  into  a  long 
dining-room,  with  a  great  height  of  ceiling.  The  house 
had  been  built  in  a  proud  old  day,  and  all  about  me  I 
noted  a  dim  and  faded  elegance.  The  General  bade  us  sit 
down,  and  I  noticed  that  his  tone  was  softened.  He  mum 
bled  a  blessing  over  a  great  hunk  of  mutton  and,  broadly 
smiling  upon  me,  told  me  that  he  was  glad  to  welcome  me 
to  his  board.  "The  school-teacher,"  said  he,  "modifies 
and  refines  our  native  crudeness.  Yes,  sir,  you  have  a 
great  work,  a  work  that  you  may  be  proud  of.  Had  edu 
cation  more  broadly  prevailed,  had  the  people  North  and 
South  better  understood  one  another,  there  would  have 
been  no  bloody  disruption.  Now,  gentlemen,  I  must  re 
quest  you  to  help  yourselves,  remembering  that  such  as 
I  have  is  freely  yours.  When  age  comes  on  apace  there  is 
nothing  more  inspiring  than  to  see  the  young  and  the 
vigorous  gathered  about  us.  And  it  is  thus  that  the  even- 


THE  JUCKLLNS  61 

ing  of  live  is  brightened.  Henry,  pass  the  bread  to  Mr. 
Jucklin,  and  the  peas,  the  very  first  of  this  backward  sea 
son,  I  assure  you.  Mr.  Hawes,  can  you  recall  the  face  of 
your  noble  grandfather?" 

"No,  General;  he  died  many  years  before  I  can  re 
member." 

"A  pity,  I  assure  you,  for  what  is  more  spurring  to  our 
ambition  than  to  recall  the  features  of  a  noted  relative. 
Some  of  this  lettuce,  Mr.  Hawes?  A  sleepy,  but  withal 
a  soothing,  dish.  My  daughter,  I  must  request  you  to  help 
yourself.  Charming  weather  we  have,  Mr.  Hawes,  with 
the  essence  of  youth  and  hope  in  the  air." 

How  completely  had  his  manner  changed.  His  eyes, 
which  had  seemed  hard  and  cold  when  he  had  waved  his 
hand  and  looked  out  over  the  yellow  sedge  grass,  were 
beaming  now  with  kindly  light,  and  his  voice,  which  I 
had  thought  was  coarse  and  gruff,  was  vibrant  with  notes 
of  stirring  sympathy.  Alf,  heartened  by  the  old  gentle 
man's  streaming  courtesy,  spoke  a  low  word  to  the  girl 
who  sat  beside  him,  and  she  nodded,  smiling,  but  with  one 
ear  politely  lent  to  the  familiar  talk  of  her  father. 

After  dinner  we  were  shown  into  the  library,  wherein 
were  many  law  books,  and  the  General,  catching  the  long 
ing  glance  that  I  shot  at  them,  turned  with  bewitching 
patronage,  bowed  and  said : 

"You  have  expressed  your  determination  to  become  ac 
quainted  with  the  law  and  to  practice  the  wiles  of  its  logic; 
and  so,  if  you  can  make  no  better  arrangements,  I  pray, 


02  THE  JUCKLIKS 

sir,  that  you  make  this  room  your  office." 

Alf's  eyes  bulged  out  at  this,  doubtless  looking  upon 
me  as  the  most  fortunate  man  alive,  and  in  my  country 
bluntness  I  blurted:  "You  are  the  kindest  man  I  ever 
saw." 

In  this  room  we  talked  for  two  hours  or  more,  and 
the  afternoon — or  the  evening,  as  we  say  in  the  South — was 
well  pronounced  when  I  declared  that  it  was  time  for  us  to 
go.  Alf  looked  up  surprised,  and  in  a  voice  sad  with  ap 
peal,  he  asked  if  it  were  very  late.  I  could  have  given  him 
the  exact  time,  but  was  afraid  to  take  out  my  grandfather's 
watch — afraid  that  the  General  and  his  daughter  might 
think  that  I  was  seeking  to  make  a  display,  so  I  simply 
said:  "Yes,  time  that  we  were  going." 

"Don't  be  in  a  hurry,  gentlemen,"  the  General  pro 
tested;  "don't  let  a  trivial  matter  rob  us  of  your  society." 

Alf  pulled  back,  but  I  insisted,  and  so  we  took  our  leave. 
The  old  gentleman  came  out  upon  the  porch  with  us. 
"Henry!"  he  yelled,  turning  about,  "who  the  devil  left  that 
gate  open?  Go  and  shut  it,  you  lazy  scoundrel.  Those 
infamous  new-comers  over  on  the  creek  take  my  place  for 
a  public  highway.  And  I  hope  to  be  hung  up  by  the  heels 
if  I  don't  fill  the  last  one  of  them  full  of  shot." 

"I'll  never  forget  you,"  Alf  remarked  as  we  walked 
along,  down  through  the  meadow.  "You  have  stood  by 
me,  and  you  bet  your  life  I  don't  forget  such  things.  Of 
course,  I  have  known  the  old  man  ever  since  I  can  re 
member,  but  he  never  treated  me  so  well  before.  And 


THE  JUCKLINS  68 

when  the  time  comes,  if  I  can  get  him  in  that  dining- 
room  I  don't  believe  he'll  refuse  me.  It's  a  blamed  big 
pity  that  I  can't  talk  as  you  can,  but  you  just  stick  to  me 
and  I  will  talk  all  right  after  a  while." 

"Oh,  I'll  stick  to  you,"  I  replied,  "but  I  didn't  notice 
that  I  talked  in  a  way  to  amount  to  anything.  I  felt  as 
stupid  as  an  ass  looks.  What  did  the  girl  say?  You  were 
talking  to  her  very  earnestly  over  by  the  window." 

"To  save  my  life,  I  can't  recall  anything  she  said,  Bill, 
but  I  know  that  every  word  she  spoke  was  dripped  honey. 
I'd  almost  give  my  life  to  take  her  in  my  arms  and  hug 
her  just  once.  Ever  feel  that  way  about  a  girl?" 

I  was  beginning  to  feel  just  exactly  that  way,  but  I  told 
him  no,  whereupon  he  said:  "But  you  may  one  of  these 
days,  and  whenever  you  do,  you  call  on  me  to  help  you, 
and  I'll  do  it,  I  don't  care  who  the  girl  is  or  how  high  up 
she  may  stand.  Many  a  night  I  have  lain  in  bed  and 
wished  that  Millie  might  be  going  along  the  road  by  herself 
and  that  about  three  men  would  come  up  and  say  some 
thing  out  of  the  way  to  her,  just  so  I  could  spring  out  and 
wipe  the  face  of  the  earth  with  them.  I'm  not  as  big  as 
you  are,  but  for  her  I'll  bet  I  can  whip  any  three  men  you 
ever  saw.  By  the  way,  don't  even  speak  Millie's  name  at 
home.  The  folks  don't  know  that  I'm  in  love  with  her. 
There's  one  thing  that  stands  in  my  favor." 

"What  is  it?"  I  asked.  He  looked  up  at  me,  but  was 
silent,  and  becoming  interested  by  his  manner  I  was  about 
to  repeat  the  question,  when  he  said:  "I'm  not  at  liberty. 


64  THE  JUCKLINS 

to  speak  of  it  yet.  You've  noticed  that  Guinea  has  more 
education  than  I  have.  Well,  her  education  has  some 
thing  to  do  with  the  point  that's  in  my  favor,  but  I've  said 
too  much  already  and  we'd  better  drop  the  subject." 

I  was  burning  to  know  more,  for  I  recalled  the  change 
of  manner  that  had  come  over  Mr.  Jucklin  at  the  time  he 
spoke  of  having  sent  his  daughter  away  to  school,  and  I 
was  turning  this  over  and  over  in  my  mind,  when  Alf 
said:  "A  young  fellow  named  Dan  Stuart  often  goes 
to  see  Millie,  and  I  don't  know  how  much  she  thinks  of 
him,  but  some  of  his  people  are  high  flyers,  and  that  may 
have  an  influence  in  his  favor.  Doc  Etheredge,  out  here, 
is  his  cousin,  and  old  man  Etheredge  owned  nearly  a  hun 
dred  and  fifty  negroes  at  one  time.  But  when  that  girl 
stands  up  at  the  altar  to  marry  some  one  else,  they  will 
find  me  there  putting  in  my  protest." 

When  we  reached  home  I  found  Guinea  sitting  under 
a  tree,  reading,  and  I  had  joined  her  when  the  old  man 
called  me.  Looking  about  I  saw  him  standing  at  the  end 
of  the  house,  beckoning  to  me.  "I  want  to  see  you  a  min 
ute,"  he  said,  as  I  approached  him.  I  wondered  whether 
he  was  again  going  to  show  me  his  chickens,  and  it  was 
a  relief  when  he  conducted  me  in  an  opposite  direction. 
He  looked  back  to  see  if  we  were  far  enough  away,  and 
then,  coming  closer  to  me,  he  said:  "This  is  the  way  I 
came  to  do  it." 

"Do  what?"  I  asked,  not  over  pleased  that  he  should 
have  called  upon  me  to  leave  the  girl. 


THfi  jtJCKLINS  6e 

"Wallow  him,  the  old  General.  He  claimed  that  my 
hogs  had  been  gettin'  into  his  field,  and  I  told  him  that 
I  didn't  feel  disposed  to  keep  my  hogs  up  when  everybody 
else's  were  runnin'  at  large,  and  then  he  called  me  a  scoun 
drel  and  we  clinched.  I  took  him  so  quick  that  he  wasn't 
prepared  for  me,  and  I  give  a  sort  of  a  hem  stich  and  down 
he  went,  right  in  the  middle  of  the  road.  And  there  I  was 
right  on  top  of  him.  He  didn*t  say  a  word,  while  I  was 
wallowin'  him,  but  when  I  let  him  up,  he  looked  all  round 
and  then  said:  'Lim  Jucklin,  if  I  thought  anybody  was 
lookin'  I'd  kill  you  right  here.  You  are  the  first  man  that 
ever  wallowed  a  Lundsford  and  lived,  and  the  novelty  of 
the  thing  sorter  appeals  to  me.  You  know  that  I'm  not 
afraid  of  the  devil,  and  keep  your  mouth  shut  about  this 
affair,  and  we'll  let  it  drap.'  .And  he  meant  just  what 
he  said,  and  I  did  keep  my  mouth  shut,  not  because 
I  was  afraid  of  his  hurtin'  me,  but  because  I  was  sorry  to 
humiliate  him.  Ever  hear  of  John  Mortimer  Lacey  ?  Well, 
shortly  after  that  him  and  Lundsford  fit  a  duel  and  Lacey 
went  to  New  Orleans  and  died  there.  So,  don't  say  any 
thing  about  it." 

"About  what?  Lacey's  going  to  New  Orleans  and  dy 
ing  there?" 

"No,  cadfound  it  all,  about  my  wallerin'  the  General." 

"I  won't,"  I  answered,  and  then  I  thought  to  touch  upon 
a  question  that  had  taken  a  fast  hold  upon  me.  "By  the 
way,  you  spoke  of  having  sent  your  daughter  to  school  at 
Raleigh * 


t»  THE  JUOKLINS 

"The  devil  I  did !  Well,  what's  that  got  to  do  with  you 
or  with  anyone  else,  for  that  matter?  I'll  be — you  must 
excuse  me,  sir,"  he  quickly  added,  bowing.  "I'm  not  right 
bright  in  my  mind  at  times.  Pecked  right  at  my  eye,  and 
if  I  hadn't  dodged  I'd  be  one-eyed  this  minute — yes,  I 
would,  as  sure  as  you  are  born.  But  here,  let  us  drop  that 
wallowin'  business  and  that  other  affair  with  it,  and  not 
mention  it  again.  Don't  know  why  I  done  it  in  the  first 
place,  but  I  reckon  it  was  because  I'm  not  right  bright 
in  my  mind  at  times.  You'll  excuse  my  snap  and  snarl, 
won't  yon?  Go  on  back  there,  now,  and  talk  about  your 
books." 

"I  am  the  one  to  ask  pardon,  Mr.  Jucklin.  I  ought  to 
have  had  better  sense  than  to  touch  upon  something  that 
didn't  concern  me.  I  guess  there  must  be  a  good  deal  of 
the  brute  in  me,  and  it  iseems  to  me  that  I.  spend  nearly 
half  my  time  regretting  what  I  did  the  other  half." 

"Why,  Lord  love  your  soul,  man,  you  haven't  done 
nothin'.  But  you  draw  me  close  to  you  when  you  talk  of 
regrettin'  things.  I  have  spent  nearly  all  my  life  in  putty 
much  that  fix.  After  you've  lived  in  this  neighborhood  a 
while  you'll  hear  that  old  Lim  has  been  in  many  a  fight, 
but  you'll  never  hear  that  anybody  has  ever  whupped  him. 
You  may  hear,  though,  that  he  has  rid  twenty  mile  of  a 
cold  night  to  beg  the  pardon  of  a  man  that  he  had  thrasherl. 
We'll  shake  hands  right  here,  and  if  you  say  the  word  we'll 
go  right  now  and  make  them  chickens  fight.  No,  it's 
Sunday.  Kiver  to  kiver,  you  understand.  Go  on  back 


THE  JUCKLINS  6> 

<- 

there,  now." 

With  Guinea  I  sat  and  saw  the  sun  go  down  behind  a 
yellow  gullied  hill.  From  afar  up  and  down  the  valley 
came  the  lonesome  "pig-oo-ee!"  of  the  farmers,  calling 
their  hogs  for  the  evening's  feed.  We  heard  the  flutter 
of  the  chickens,  flying  to  roost,  and  the  night  hawk  heard 
them,  too,  for  his  eager,  hungry  scream  pierced  the  still 
air.  On  a  smooth  old  rock  at  the  verge  of  the  ravine  the 
girl's  brother  stood,  arms  folded,  looking  out  over  the 
darkening  low  land,  and  from  within  the  house,  where 
Mrs.  Jucklin  sat  alone,  there  came  a  sad  melody:  "Come, 
thou  fount  of  every  blessing." 

The  girl's  eyes  were  upward  turned.  "Every  evening 
comes  with  a  new  mystery,"  she  said.  "We  think  we  know 
what  to  expect,  but  when  the  evening  comes  it  is  different 
from  what  it  was  yesterday." 

"And  it  is  thus  that  we  are  enabled  to  live  without  grow 
ing  tired  of  the  world  and  of  ourselves,"  I  replied.  "And 
I  wish  that  I  had  come  like  the  evening — with  a  mystery," 
I  added. 

I  heard  her  musical  cluck  and  even  in  the  dusk  I  could 
see  the  light  of  her  smile.  "But  why  should  you  want  to 
come  with  a  mystery?"  she  asked. 

"To  inspire  those  about  me  with  an  interest  regarding 
me.  Even  the  stray  dog  is  more  interesting  than  the  dog 
that  is  vouched  for  by  the  appearance  of  his  master.  I 
never  saw  a  pack-peddler  that  I  did  not  long  to  know 
something  of  his  life,  his  emotions,  the  causes  that  sent 


68  THE  JUCKLINS 

him  adrift,  but  I  can't  find  this  interest  in  a  man  whom  I 
understand." 

She  laughed  again.  "But  haven't  you  some  little  mys 
tery  connected  with  your  life?"  she  asked. 

"None.  I  have  read  myself  into  a  position  a  few  degrees 
above  the  clod-hopper,  but  that's  all.  If  there  were  a  war, 
I  would  be  a  soldier,  but  as  there  is  no  war,  I  am  going 
to  be  a  lawyer." 

"It  would  be  nice,  I  should  think,  to  stand  up  and  make 
speeches,"  she  said.  "But  wouldn't  you  rather  be  a  doc 
tor?" 

I  don't  know  why  I  said  it,  but  I  replied  that  I  hated  doc 
tors,  and  she  did  not  laugh  at  this,  but  was  silent.  I  waited 
for  her  to  say  something,  but  she  uttered  not  a  word.  It 
was  now  dark,  and  I  could  just  discern  Alf's  figure,  stand- 
Ing  on  the  rock.  The  song  in  the  house  was  hushed. 

"I  don't  really  mean  that  I  hate  doctors,"  I  said,  seek 
ing  to  right  myself,  if,  indeed,  I  had  made  a  mistake;  and 
she  simply  replied:  "Oh."  "I  mean  that  I  should  not  like 
to  practice  medicine,"  I  added,  and  again  she  said:  "Oh.'J 
A  lamp  had  been  lighted  in  the  sittting-room,  and  thithei 
we  went,  to  join  Old  Lim  and  his  wife,  who  were  warm  ii« 
the  discussion  of  a  religious  question.  The  Book  said 
that  whatever  a  man's  hands  found  to  do  he  must  do,  and, 
therefore,  he  held  that  it  was  right  to  do  almost  anything 
on  Sunday. 

"Even  unto  the  fighting  of  chickens?"  his  wife  asked. 

"Oh,  I  knowed  what  you  was  a-gittin'  at.    Knowed  it 


THE  JUCEL1NS  6* 

while  you  was  a-beatin'  the  bush  all  round.  When  a 
woman  begins  to  beat  the  bush,  it's  time  to  look  out,  Mr. 
Hawes.  I  came  in  here  just  now,  and  I  knowed  in  a  min 
ute  that  wife,  there,  was  goin'  to  accuse  me  of  havin'  a 
round  with  Sam  and  Bob,  but  I  pledge  you  my  word  that 
I  didn't.  Just  went  in  and  exchanged  a  few  words  with 
'em.  Man's  got  a  right  to  talk  to  his  friends,  I  reckon; 
but  if  he  ain't,  w'y,  it's  time  to  shut  up  shop." 

Alf  came  in  and,  with  Guinea,  sang  an  old  song,  and 
their  father  sat  there  with  the  tears  shining  in  his  eyes.  He 
leaned  over,  and  I  heard  him  whisper  to  his  wife:  "Did 
have  just  a  mild  bit  of  a  round,  Susan,  and  I  hope  that 
you  and  the  Lord  will  forgive  me  for  it.  If  you  do  I  know 
the  Lord  will.  I'm  an  old  liar,  Susan." 

"No,  you  are  not,  Lemuel,"  she  answered,  in  a  low  voice. 
''You  are  the  best  man  in  the  world,  and  everybody  loves 
you." 

I  saw  him  squeeze  'her  wrinkled  hand. 

I  could  not  sleep,  but  in'  a  strange  disturbance  tossed 
about.  Alf  was  talking  in  a  dream.  I  got  up  and  "sat  for 
a  time  at  the  window,  looking  out  toward  the  gullied  hill 
that  had  turned  out  the  light  of  the  sun.  On  the  morrow 
my  work  was  to  begin.  And  what  was  to  be  the  result? 
Was  it  intended  that  I  should  reach  the  bar  and  win  re 
nown,  or  had  I  been  listed  for  the  life  of  a  pedagogue? 
Was  my  love  for  the  girl  so  new  that  it  dazzled  me?  No, 
},t  was  now  a  passion,  wounded  and  sore.  But  why?  By 
that  little  word,  "Oh."  I  put  on  my  clothes,  tip-toed  down 


18  THE  JUCKLINS 

stairs  and  walked  about  the  yard.  The  moon  was  full,  low 
above  the  scrub  oaks.  A  streak  of  shimmering  light  ran 
down  toward  the  spring,  and  over  it  I  slowly  strode.  I 
heard  the  water  gurgling  from  under  the  moss-covered 
spring-house,  and  I  saw  the  leaf-shadow  patch-work 
moving  to  and  fro  over  the  smooth  slabs  of  stone. 
Long  I  stood  there,  looking  at  the  pictures,  listening  to 
the  music;  and  turning  back  toward  the  house,  I  had  gone 
some  distance  when  I  chanced  to  look  up,  and  then, 
thrilled,  I  slowly  sank  upon  my  knees.  At  one  of  the  large 
windows,  in  the  northeast  end  of  the  house,  stood  Guinea, 
in  a  loose,  white  robe,  the  light  of  the  full  moon  falling 
upon  her.  Behind  her  head  her  hands  were  clasped,  and 
she  stood  there  like  a  marble  cross.  Her  face  was  upward 
turned,  and  the  low  yellow  moon  was  bronzing  her  brown 
hair — a  glorified  marble  cross,  with  a  crown  of  gold,  I 
thought,  as  I  bowed  in  my  worship.  My  forehead  touched 
the  path,  and  when  I  lifted  my  head — the  cross  was  gone. 


THE  JUCKLIKS 


CHAPTER  VI. 

We  ate  breakfast  early  the  next  morning,  while  the 
game  cocks  were  yet  crowing  in  their  coop.  When  I 
went  down  I  heard  the  jingling  of  trace  chains,  and  I  knew 
that  the  old  man  was  making  ready  to  plow  the  young 
corn.  I  had  insisted  upon  walking  to  the  school-house, 
telling  Alf  that  all  I  wanted  was  to  know  the  direction, 
but  he  declared  that  it  was  no  more  than  just  that  I  should 
be  driven  over  the  first  morning  of  the  session.  So,  to 
gether  we  went  on  the  buck-board.  Guinea  had  laugh 
ingly  told  me  not  to  be  afraid  of  the  creek,  that  the  large 
boys  were  at  home,  plowing,  and  as  we  were  skirting  the 
gullied  hill  I  glanced  back  and  saw  her  standing  in  the 
yard,  looking  after  us.  The  road  lay  mostly  through  the 
woods,  with  many  a  turn  and  dip  down  among  thick 
bushes  to  cross  a  crooked  stream.  Sometimes  we  came 
upon  small  clearings,  where  tired-looking  men  were  grub- 
bing  new-land  for  tobacco,  and  I  remember  that  a  half- 
grown  boy,  with  a  sullen  look,  threw  a  chunk  at  us  and 
viciously  shouted  that  if  we  would  stop  a  minute  he  would 
whip  both  of  us.  I  imagined  that  he  was  kept  from  school 
by  the  imperious  demand  of  the  tobacco  patch,  and  I  sym 
pathized  with  him  in  his  wrath  against  mankind.  A  little 


ffi  THE  JUCKLINS 

further  along  we  came  within  sight  of  an  old  log  house, 
and  then  the  laughter  of  children  reached  our  ears.  We 
had  arrived  at  the  place  where  my  work  was  to  begin.  Alf 
put  me  down,  and,  saying  that  he  must  get  back  home, 
drove  away;  and  a  hush  fell  upon  the  children  as  I  turned 
toward  the  house.  Inside  I  found  a  cow-bell,  and  when  I 
had  rung  the  youngsters  to  their  duties,  I  made  them  a 
short  speech,  telling  them  that  I  was  sure  we  should  be 
come  close  friends.  I  had  some  difficulty  in  arranging 
them  into  classes,  for  it  appeared  that  each  child  had 
brought  an  individual  book.  But  I  was  glad  to  see  that 
old  McGuffy's  readers  prevailed,  for  in  many  parts  of  the 
South  they  had  been  supplanted  by  books  of  flimsy  text, 
and  now  to  see  them  cropping  up  gave  me  great  pleasure. 
There  they  were,  with  the  same  old  lessons  that  had  fired 
me  with  ambition,  the  words  of  Shakspeare  and  the 
speeches  of  great  Americans. 

By  evening  my  work  was  well  laid  out,  and  as  I  took 
my  way  homeward,  with  Guinea  in  my  mind,  there  was 
a  strong  surge  within  my  breast,  the  leaping  of  a  deter 
mination  to  win  her. 

As  I  neared  home,  coming  round  by  the  spring,  I  saw 
the  girl  running  down  the  path,  the  picture  of  a  young 
deer,  and  how  that  picture  did  remain  with  me,  and  how 
on  an  occasion  held  by  the  future,  it  was  to  be  vivified. 

"Oh,  you  have  got  back  safe  and  dry,"  she  cried,  halting 
upon  seeing  me.  "Why,  I  thought  you  would  come  back 
dripping.  No,  I  didn't,"  she  quickly  added.  "Bon't  you 


THE  JUCKLINS  7« 

know  I  told  you  that  all  the  large  boys  were  at  work?  Wait 
until  I  get  the  jar  of  butter  and  I'll  go  to  the  house  with 
you." 

"Let  me  get  it  for  you,"  I  replied,  turning  back  with 
her. 

"You  can't  get  it,"  she  said,  laughing;  "you'll  fall  into 
the  spring.  But,  then,  you  might  hold  it  as  a  remembrance 
to  temper  the  severity  of  the  ducking  yet  to  come.'1 

"Miss  Guinea,"  I  made  bold  to  say,  standing  at  the  door 
of  the  spring-house,  "do  you  know  that  you  talk  with  ex 
ceeding  readiness?" 

"Oh,  do  you  mean  that  I  am  always  ready  to  talk?  1 
didn't  think  that  of  you." 

I  reached  out  and  took  the  jar  from  her.  "You  know 
I  didn't  mean  that,"  I  said ;  and,  looking  up,  with  her  eyes 
full  of  mischief,  she  asked:  "What  did  you  mean,  then?" 

"I  mean  that  you  talk  easily  and  brightly* — like  a  book." 

"You'd  better  let  me  have  the  jar,"  she  said,  holding  out 
her  hands.  "I'm  afraid  that  you'll  fall  and  break  it,  after 
that.  You  know  that  a  man  is  never  so  likely  to  slip  as 
he  is  when  he's  trying  to  compliment  a  woman." 

"No,  I  don't  know  that,  but  I  do  know  that  a  Southern 
woman  ought  to  know  the  difference  between  flattery  and 
.  a  real  compliment." 

"Why  a  Southern  woman?"  she  asked.  She  looked  to 
me  as  if  she  were  really  in  earnest  and  I  strove  to  answer 
her  earnestly. 

"Because  Southern  women  are  not  given  to  flirting; 


W  THE  JUCKLINS 

because  they  place  more  reliance  in  what  a  man  says, 
and > 

"I  think  you've  got  yourself  tangled  up,"  she  said,  laugh 
ing  at  me,  and  I  could  but  acknowledge  that  I  had;  and 
then  it  was,  in  the  sweetest  of  tones,  that  she  said:  "But 
if  I  had  thought  you  really  were  tangled  I  would  not  have 
spoken  of  it.  Now  tell  me  what  you  were  going  to  say, 
and  I  promise  to  listen  like  a  mouse  in  a  corner." 

"No,  I'm  afraid  to  attempt  it  again."  I  was  in  advance 
of  her,  for  the  path  was  narrow  and  the  dew  was  now 
gathering  on  the  grass,  but  she  shot  past  me,  and,  looking 
back,  said  beseechingly:  "Won't  you,  please?"  The  sun 
was  long  since  down  and  the  twilight  was  darkening,  but 
I  could  see  the  eagerness  on  her  face.  "Do,  please,  for  I 
like  to  hear  such  things.  I'm  nothing  but  the  simplest 
sort  of  a  girl,  as  easy  to  amuse  as  a  child,  and  you  must 
remember  that  you  are  a  great  big  man,  from  out  in  the 
world." 

"Come  on  with  that  butter!"  the  old  man  shouted,  and 
with  a  laugh  the  girl  ran  away  from  me.  I  wondered 
whether  she  were  playing  with  me,  but  I  could  not  believe 
that  she  was.  In  those  eyes  there  might  be  mischief,  but 
there  could  not  be  deceit. 

Bed  time  came  immediately  after  supper.  The  old  man 
did  not  go  out  to  look  after  his  chickens,  so  tired  was  he, 
and  there  was  no  song  in  the  sitting-room.  I  sat  in  the 
passage,  where  the  moonlight  fell,  and  hoped  that  the  girl 
might  join  me,  but  she  did  not,  and  I  went  to  my  room, 


THE  JUCKLINS  71 

where  I  found  Alf,  half  undressed,  sitting  on  the  edge 
of  the  bed.  I  had  sat  down  and  had  filled  my  pipe  before 
he  took  notice  of  me,  but  when  I  began  to  search  about 
for  a  light  he  looked  up  and  remarked:  "Matches  on  the 
corner  of  your  library." 

"Here's  one,"  I  replied,  and  had  lighted  the  pipe  when 
he  said:  "Saw  her  to-day.  Bill — saw  her  riding  along  the 
road  with  Dan  Stuart.  She  didn't  even  look  over  in  the 
field  toward  me,  but  he  waved  his  hand,  and  I  saw  more 
hatred  than  friendship  in  it.  Blame  it  all,  Bill,  I'm  not 
going  to  follow  a  plow  through  the  dirt  all  the  time.  I 
can  do  something  better,  and  after  this  crop's  laid  by  I'm 
going  to  do  it.  I  don't  think  that  she  wants  to  marry  a 
farmer." 

"What  does  Stuart  do?"  I  asked.  "How  can  he  afford 
to  be  riding  about  when  other  men  are  at  work?" 

"Oh,  I  guess  he's  pretty  well  fixed.  He's  got  a  lot  of 
negroes  working  for  him  and  he  raises  a  good  deal  of 
;obacco.  No,  sir,  she  didnt  even  look  toward  me." 

"But  haven't  you  passed  her  house  when  you  were 
almost  afraid  to  look  toward  the  porch  when  you  knew 
that  she  was  standing  there?" 

"Of  course  I  have!"  he  cried.  "Yes,  sir,  I've  done  that 
many  a  time — just  pretended  that  I  had  business  every 
where  else  but  on  that  porch.  Ain't  it  strange  how  love 
does  take  hold  of  a  fellow?  It  gets  into  his  heart  and  his 
heart  shoots  it  to  the  very  ends  of  his  fingers;  it  gets  into 
his  eyes,  and  he  can't  see  anything  but  love,  love  every- 


•iff  THE  JUCKLIKS 

where.  It  may  catch  you  one  of  these  days,  Bill,  and  when 
it  does,  you'll  know  just  how  I  feel." 

I  looked  at  this  strong  and  honest  man,  this  man  idol 
izing  an  image  that  he  had  enshrined  in  his  soul,  and  I 
thought  to  tell  him  that,  with  my  forehead  touching  the 
ground,  I  had  worshiped  his  sister,  but  no,  it  was  too  deli 
cate  a  confidence — I  would  keep  it  to  myself. 

We  were  astir  in  the  dawn  the  next  day,  ate  breakfast 
by  the  light  of  a  lamp,  but  Guinea  was  not  at  'the  table, 
and  I  loitered  there  after  the  others  were  gone  out,  hoping 
to  see  her,  but  she  did  not  come,  and  then  I  remembered 
that  Mrs.  Jucklin  was  also  absent,  and  that  the  services  of 
the  meal  had  been  performed  by  a  negro  woman. 

When  I  returned  at  evening,  with  the  droning  of  the  chil 
dren's  voices  echoing  in  my  ears,  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  had 
been  gone  an  age.  I  came  again  by  the  spring,  but  Guinea 
was  not  there,  but  I  heard  her  singing  as  I  drew  near  to 
the  house.  She  was  in  the  passage,  gleefully  dancing,  with 
a  broom  for  a  partner.  When  she  saw  me  she  threw  down 
the  broom  and  ran  away,  laughing;  but  she  came  back 
when  she  found  that  I  had  really  discovered  her.  "You 
must  think  that  I  am  the  silliest  creature  in  the  world," 
she  said,  "and  I  don't  know  that  I  can  dispute  you.  Millie 
Lundsford  has  just  gone  home.  She  and  I  have  been 
going  through  with  our  old-time  play,  when,  with  window 
curtains  wound  about  us  to  represent  long  dresses,  and 
with  brooms  to  personate  the  brave  knights  who  had  res 
cued  us  from  the  merciless  Turks,  we  danced  in  the  castle. 


THE  JUCKLINS  77 

And  I  was  just  taking  a  turn  with  a  duke  when  you  came* 
What  a  knight  you  would  have  been." 

"And  what  an  inspiration  I  should  have  had  to  drive 
me  onward  and  to  set  my  soul  aflame  with  ambition/'  I 
replied,  looking  into  her  eyes. 

It  must  have  been  my  look  rather  than  my  words  that 
threw  a  change  over  her;  my  manner  must  have  told  her 
that  I  was  becoming  too  serious  for  one  who  had  known 
her  so  short  a  time,  but  be  that  as  it  may,  a  change  had 
come  upon  her.  She  was  no  longer  a  girl,  gay  and  airy, 
with  a  romping  spirit,  but  a  woman,  dignified. 

"Has  your  work  been  hard  to-day  ?';  she  asked. 

"It  has  been  more  or  less  stupid,  as  it  always  is,"  I  an 
swered,  slowly  walking  with  her  toward  the  dining-room. 

When  we  had  sat  down  to  the  table  Alf  came  in  with 
his  new  clothes  on,  and  whispering  to  me  when  his  sister 
had  turned  to  say  something  to  her  mother,  he  said :  "Got 
something  to  tell  you  when  we  go  up  stairs." 

Mrs.  Jucklin  was  afraid  that  I  did  not  eat  enough;  she 
had  heard  that  brain  workers  required  much  food;  her 
uncle,  who  had.  been  a  justice  of  the  peace,  had' told  her 
that  it  made  but  small  difference  what  he  ate  while  engaged 
in  getting  out  saw  logs,  but  that  when  he  began  to  medi 
tate  over  a  case  in  court  he  required  the  most  stimulating 
provender.  "And  now,"  she  said,  "if  there's  anything  that 
I  can  fix  for  you,  do,  please,  let  me  know  what  it  is.  Now, 
Gi<ifl£a,  what  are  you  titterin'  at?  And  that  negro  woman 
doesn't  half  do  her  work,  either.  I  declare  to  goodness 


78  THE  JUCKLINS 

Pd  rather  do  everything  on  the  place  than  to  see  her  foolin' 
round  as  if  she's  afraid  to  take  hold  of  anything;  and  her 
fingers  full  of  brass  rings,  too.  I  jest  told  her  that  she'd 
have  to  take  'em  off,  that  I  didn't  want  to  eat  any  brass. 
Laws  a  massy,  niggers  are  jest  as  different  from  what  they 
was  as  day  is  from  night.  Talk  to  me  about  freedom 
helpin'  'em.  But  the  Lord  knows  best,"  she  added,  with 
a  sigh  of  resignation.  "If  He  wants  'em  to  be  free,  why, 
no  one  ought  to  complain,  and  goodness  knows  I  don't. 
Yes,  they  ought  to  be  free,"  she  went  on  after  a  moment 
of  reflection.  "Oh,  it  was  a  sin  and  a  shame  to  sell  'em 
away  from  their  children,  But  it's  all  over  now,  thank  God. 
Now,  I  wonder  where  your  father  is,  Alf.  Never  saw  sich 
a  man  in  my  life.  Looks  jest  like  he  begrudges  time 
enough  to  eat.  There  he  comes  now." 

The  old  man  came  in,  covered  with  dirt.  "Alf,  is  the 
shot  gun  loaded?"  he  asked,  brushing  himself. 

"Yes,  sir.  Why?"  We  looked  at  the  old  fellow,  wonder 
ing  what  he  meant,  but  he  made  no  explanation.  Alf  re 
peated  his  question.  "Why?"  And  the  old  man  ex 
claimed:1  "Oh,  nothin'.  Jest  goin'  to  blow  that  red  steer's 
head  off,  that's  all.  Confound  his  hide.  I  wish  I  may  die 
this  minute  if  I  ever  had  sich  a  jolt  in  my  life.  Went  along 
by  him,  not  sayin'  a  word  to  him,  and  if  he  didn't  up  and 
let  me  have  both  heels  I'm  the  biggest  liar  that  ever  walked 
a  log.  Hadn't  done  a  thing  to  him,  mind  you;  walkin' 
along  'tendin'  to  my  own  business,  when  both  of  his  heels 
flew  at  me.  And  I'll  eat  a  bite  and  then  go  and  blow  his 


THE  JUCKLINS  79 

head  off/' 

"Oh,  Limuel,"  his  wife  protested;  "a  body  to  hear  you 
talk  would  think  that  you  don't  do  anything  at  all  but 
thirst  for  blood.  If  the  Lord  puts  it  in  the  mind  of  a  steer 
to  kick  you,  why,  it  ain't  the  poor  creeter's  fault." 

The  old  man  snorted.  "And  if  the  Lord  puts  it  in  my 
mind  to  kill  the  steer  it  ain't  my  fault,  muther.  Conscience 
alive,  what  are  we  all  dressed  up  so  about?"  he  added, 
looking  at  Alf.  "So  much  stile  goin'  on  that  a  body  don't 
know  whuther  he's  a  shuckin'  corn  or  as  at  a  picnic.  Blow 
his  head  off  as  soon  as  I  eat  a  bite." 

I  could  see  that  Alf  was  anxious  to  tell  me  something, 
and  immediately  after  supper  I  went  up  stairs  with  him. 
He  took  off  his  coat,  and  after  dusting  it  carefully  hung  it 
up  and  sat  down.  He  looked  at  me  as  if  he  were  delighted 
with  the  curiosity  that  I  was  showing,  and  then  as  he 
reached  for  his  pipe  he  began:  "I  was  a-plowing  out  in 
the  field  about  three  hours  by  sun,  when  I  saw  Millie  come 
out  of  the  valley  like  a  larkspur  straightening  up  in  the 
spring  of  the  year,  and  after  waiting  a  while,  but  always 
with  my  eye  on  the  house,  I  quit  work,  slipped  up  here 
and  dressed  myself  so  as  to  be  ready  to  walk  home  with 
her.  I  was  rather  afraid  to  ask  her  at  first,  knowing  that 
this  was  breaking  away  from  all  my  former  strings  and 
announcing  my  determination  of  keeping  company  with 
her,  out  and  out,  and  I  don't  know  exactly  how  I  got  at  it, 
but  I  did,  and  the  first  thing  I  knew  I  was  walking  down 
the  road  with  her.  And  this  time  I  do  remember  what 


40  THE  JUCKLINS 

she  said,  but  there  wasn't  anything  so  encouraging  in  it 
The  fact  is  she  had  something  to  tell  me  about  you." 

"About  me?  What  can  she  know  about  me?  Probably 
she  was  giving  you  her  father's  estimate  of  me." 

"No,  but  somebody  else's  estimate,"  he  replied.  "You 
recollect  a  fellow  named  Bentley?" 

"Bentley?  Of  course,  I  do.  We  lived  on  adjoining 
farms,  and  I  have  a  sore  cause  to  remember  him.  But  how 
could  she  have  heard  anything  about  him?" 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you.  Mrs.  Bentley  is  old  man  Aimes' 
sister,  and  she's  over  here  now  on  a  visit,  and  when  she 
heard  that  you  were  teaching  school  in  the  neighborhood 
she  declared  that  it  would  be  a  mercy  if  you  didn't  kill 
somebody  before  you  got  through.  And  then  she  told 
that  you,  had  waylaid  her  son  one  night  and  come  mighty 
nigh  killing  him.  She  said  that  she  was  perfectly  willing 
to  forgive  you  until  she  saw  the'  scar  left  on  her  son's  fore 
head,  and  a  woman  can't  very  well  forgive  a  scar,  you 
know.  Old  Aimes  and  all  his  sons  are  slaughter-house 
dogs,  and  they  appeared  to  take  up  a  hatred  against  you 
at  once.  Don't  you  remember  as  we  drove  to  the  school 
a  boy  threw  a  chunk  at  us  as  we  were  passing  a  clearing 
and  swore  that  he  could  whip  us  both?  Well,  that  was  the 
youngest  Aimes,  and  the  trick  now  is,  as  I  understand  it, 
to  send  him  to  school  with  instructions  to  do  pretty  much 
as  he  pleases  and  to  take  revenge  on  you  in  case  you  whip 
him.  Millie  said  that  her  father  swore  that  it  was  a  shame 
and  that  if  you  wanted  any  help  from  him  you  could  get 


THE  JUCKLINS  b) 

it.  Nobody  likes  the  Aimes  family.  Came  in  here  several 
years  ago,  and  have  been  kicking  up  disturbances  ever 
since." 

I  told  Alf  why  I  had  snatched  Bentley  off  his  horse, 
nor  in  the  least  did  I  shield  myself.  I  even  called  myself 
a  brute.  But  I  told  him  of  the  season  of  sorrow  and  hu 
miliation  through  which  I  had  passed,  that  I  had  insisted 
upon  giving  Bentley  the  only  valuable  thing  I  possessed, 
that  against  his  mother's  command  I  had  striven  to  work 
for  him  during  the  time  he  was  laid  up,  and  that  I  had 
even  plowed  his  field  at  night. 

"I  don't  know  that  you  were  so  far  wrong  in  beating  him 
in  the  first  place,"  said  Alf,  "but  if  you  were,  your  course 
afterward  should  have  more  than  atoned  for  it.  By  gra 
cious,  I  feel  that  if  some  one  would  plow  for  me  Fd  let 
him  maul  me  until  he  got  tired.  Millie  said  that  she  was 
afraid  that  something  might  happen  to  get  you  into 
trouble.  She  seemed  a  good  deal  concerned  about  it,  for 
I  reckon  she's  got  the  noblest  and  purest  heart  of  any 
human  being  now  in  the  world,  and  she  said  that  she 
thought  that  if  you  were  to  give  up  the  school  her  father 
could  make  some  arrangements  for  you  to  study  law  in 
Purdy,  the  county  seat.  I  told  her  that  you  would  be  de 
lighted  to  quit  teaching  under  ordinary  circumstances,  but 
that  just  at  present  you'd  teach  or  die.  Was  I  right?" 

"Surely,  and  I  thank  you  for  having  defined  my  position. 
I  wonder  if  we  can  commit  an  innocent  error,  an  error 
that  will  lie  asleep  and  never  rise  up  to  confront  us?  Now, 


<Jg  THE  JUCKL1NS 

I  shall  have  a  fine  reputation  in  this  neighborhood." 

"Oh,  don't  let  that  worry  you,  Bill.  It'll  come  out  all 
right  I'd  be  willing  to  have  almost  any  sort  of  name  if 
it  would  influence  that  girl  to  talk  in  my  favor  as  she  did 
in  yours.  I  don't  know  what  to  think;  somehow  I  can't 
find  out  her  opinion  of  me.  I  slily  spoke  about  that  fellow, 
Dan  Stuart,  but  she  didn't  say  a  word.  Confound  it,  Bill, 
can't  a  woman,  see  that  she's  got  a  fellow  on  the  gridiron? 
They  can't  even  bear  to  see  a  hog  suffer,  but  they  can 
smile  and  look  unconcerned  while  a  man  is  writhing  over 
the  coals.  I  don't  understand  it." 

"Nor  do  I,  Alf,  but  I've  been  over  the  coals — I  mean 
that  I  can  well  imagine  what  it  is  to  be  there." 

He  lay  down,  and  with  his  head  far  back  on  the  pillow, 
looked  upward  as  if  with  his  gaze  he  would  bore 
through  the  roof  and  reach  the  stars.  He  was  silent  for  a 
long  time,  but  when  I  had  blown  out  the  light  and  had 
gone  to  bed,  thinking  that  he  was  asleep,  I  heard  him 
muttering. 

"Talking  to  me,  Alf?"  He  turned  over  with  a  sigh  and 
answered:  "No,  not  particularly.  I  was  just  wondering 
whether  a  man  ought  to  try  to  outlive  a  disappointment 
in  love  or  kill  himself  and  end  the  matter.  We  are  told 
that  God  is  love,  and  if  God  is  denied  to  a  man,  what's 
the  use  of  trying  to  struggle  on?  I  suppose  the  advantage 
of  knowledge  is  that  it  enables  a  man  to  settle  such  ques 
tions  at  once,  but  as  I  am  not  learned,  having  grabbed  but 
a  little  here  and  there,  T  have  to  worry  along  with  a  thing 


THE  JUCKLINS  8* 

that  another  man  might  dismiss  at  once.  What's  your 
idea,  Bill?" 

''My  idea  is  that  a  man  ought  never  to  give  up;  but,  of 
course,  there  are  times  when  he  is  so  completely  beaten 
that  to  fight  longer  is  worse  than  useless.  But  learning 
cannot  settle  questions  wherein  the  heart  is  involved.  The 
philosopher  ma>  kill  himself  in  despair,  while  the  ignorant 
man  may  continue  to  fight  and  may  finally  win.  The 
other  day  you  spoke  of  something  that  was  in  your  favor 
— something  that  has  to  do  with  your  sister's  education. 
Would  you  think  it  impertinent  if  I  ask  you  what  that 
something  is?" 

"No,  I'd  not  think  that,"  he  answered.  I  had  risen  up  in 
bed  and  was  straining  my  eyes,  trying  to  find  his  face,  to 
study  his  expression,  but  darkness  lay  between  us.  "Not 
impertinent  in  the  least,  but  I  can't  tell  you  just  now.  After 
a  while,  if  you  stay  here  long  enough,  you'll  know  all 
about  it.  Bill,  if  that  young  Aimes  comes  to  school  and 
begins  any  of  his  pranks,  take  him  down  and  I'll  stand 
by  you,  and  people  that  know  me  well  will  tell  you  that 
I  mean  what  I  say.  The  old  man  has  never  been  whipped 
yet,  I  mean  my  father,  and  nobody  ever  saw  his  son  knock 
under." 


THE  JUCKLINS 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  next  morning,  when  with  quick  stride,  to  make  up 
for  an  anxious  lingering  in  the  passage  way,  I  hastened 
toward  the  school,  I  heard  the  gallop  of  a  horse,  and  turn 
ing  about,  saw  old  General  Lundsford  coming  like  a 
dragoon.  Upon  seeing  me  he  drew  in  his  horse  and  had 
sobered  him  to  a  walk  by  the  time  he  reached  a  brook, 
on  the  brink  of  which  I  halted  to  let  him  pass. 

"Why,  good  morning,  Mr.  Hawes.  Beautiful  day,  sir. 
I  am  going  your  way  a  short  distance,  and  if  you'll  get 
up  here  behind  me,  sir,  you  shall  ride." 

I  thanked  him,  telling  him  that  I  much  preferred  to 
walk.  "All  right,  sir,  and  I  will  get  down  and  walk  with 
you  until  duty,  sir,"  he  said  sonorously,  with  a  bow;  "until 
duty,  sir,  shall  call  us  apart." 

I  urged  him  not  to  get  down,  telling  him  that  I  could 
easily  keep  pace  with  his  horse,  but  he  dismounted  even 
before  crossing  the  stream,  preferring,  he  said,  with  an 
other  bow,  to  take  his  chances  with  me.  And  thus  we 
walked  onward,  the  horse  following  close,  now  and  then 
"nosing"  his  master's  shoulder  to  show  his  preference  and 
his  loyalty.  The  season  was  mellowing  and  the  old  gentle 
man  wag  airily  dressed  in  white,  low  shoes  neatly  polished 


THE  JUCKLINS  85 

and  a  Panama  hat.  He  was  delighted,  he  said,  to  hear 
that  I  was  getting  along  so  well  with  the  school,  and  he 
knew  that  I  would  be  of  vast  good  to  the  community.  "I 
have  heard  of  the  Aimes  conspiracy,"  said  he,  "and  I  am 
glad  that  I  met  you,  for  I  wanted  to  talk  to  you  about  it 
The  truth  of  it  all  is,  not  that  you  once  larruped  that 
fellow  Bentley,  but  that  old  Aimes  wishes  to  put  a  sly  in 
dignity  upon  me  by  misusing  one  who  has  been  enter 
tained  at  rry  house.  That's  the  point,  sir.  He  heard  that 
I  had  giver:  you  countenance  at  my  board,  and  what  his 
sister  afterward  told  him  was  an  excuse  for  the  exercise, 
sir,  of  his  distemper.  But,  by — I  came  within  one  of 
swearing,  sir.  I  used  to  curse  like  an  overseer,  but  I  joined 
the  church  not  long  ago,  and  I've  been  walking  a  tight 
rope  ever  since.  But  as  I  was  about  to  say,  you  are  not 
going  to  let  those  people  humiliate  you." 

"I  am  going  to  do  my  duty,"  I  answered,  "and  my  duty 
does  not  tell  me  to  be  humiliated." 

"Good,  sir;  first-rate.  As  a  general  thing,  we  do  not 
look  for  the  highest  spirit  in  a  school-teacher — pardon  my 
frankness,  for,  as  you  know,  one  who  is  dependent  upon 
a  whole  community,  one  who  seeks  to  please  many  and 
varied  persons,  is  not  as  likely  to  exhibit  that  independence 
and  vigor  of  action  which  is  characteristic  of  the  man  who 
stands  solely  upon  honor,  with  nothing  to  appease  save 
his  own  idea  of  right.  But  I  forgot.  The  grandson  of 
Captain  Hawes  needs  no  such  homily.  The  Aimes  fam 
ily  is  a  hard  lot,  sir,  but  a  gentleman  can  at  all  times 


ft  THE  JUCKLINS 

stand  in  smiling  conquest  above  a  tough.  Scott  Aimes, 
a  burly  scoundrel,  and,  therefore,  the  pet  of  his  father,  at 
one  time  threatened  to  chastize  my  son  Chydister,  who  is 
now  off  at  college.  And  I  said  not  a  word  in  reply,  when 
my  son  told  me  of  the  threat.  I  merely  pointed  to  a  shot 
gun  above  the  library  door  and  went  on  with  my  reading 
of  the  death  notices  in  the  newspaper.  That  gun  is  there 
now,  sir,  and  whenever  you  want  it,  speak  the  word  and  it 
shall  be  yours." 

I  laughed  to  myself  and  thought  that  I  must  be  getting 
on  well  with  the  old  General — first  the  offer  of  his  library 
and  now  of  his  gun — and  I  thanked  him  for  the  interest 
which  he  had  shown  in  me,  a  mere  stranger.  "A  well- 
bred  Southerner  is  never  a  stranger  in  the  South,"  said 
he.  "We  are  held  together  by  an  affection  stronger  than 
any  tie  that  runs  from  heart  to  heart  in  any  other  branch 
of  the  human  family.  But,"  he  added,  sadly  shaking  his 
head,  "I  fear  that  this  affection  is  weakening.  Our  young 
men  are  becoming  steeped  in  the  strong  commercial  spirit 
of  the  North.  I  should  like  to  continue  this  pleasant  and 
elevating  conversation,  but  here's  where  I  am  compelled 
to  leave  you." 

"Can  I  assist  you  to  mount?"  I  asked,  hardly  knowing 
what  else  to  say.  He  shoved  his  hat  back  and  looked  at 
me  in  astonishment.  "You  are  kind,  sir,  but  I  am  not  yet 
on  the  lift."  But  he  instantly  recognized  that  this  was 
harsh,  and  with  a  broad  smile  he  added:  "Pardon  me 
for  my  shortness  of  speech,  but  the  truth  is  that  a  man 


THE  JUCKLINS  91 

who  has  spent  much  of  his  life  in  the  saddle  contemplates 
with  horror  the  time  when  he  must  be  helped  to  his  seat." 

"General,  I  am  the  one  to  ask  pardon/'  I  replied,  bow 
ing  in  my  turn. 

'Oh,  no,  I  assure  you!"  he  exclaimed,  mounting  his 
horse  with  more  ease  than  I  had  expected  to  see.  "It 
wai>  your  kindness  of  heart,  sir;  a  courtesy,  and  though  a 
courtesy  may  be  a  mistake,  it  is  still  a  virtue.  Look  at 
that  old  field  out  there,"  he  broke  off.  "Do  you  call  that 
an  advancement  of  civilization.  By — the  tight  rope,  again 
— it  is  desolation." 

It  seemed  that  while  walking  he  had  regarded  me  as  his 
guest,  but  that  now,  astride  his  horse  and  I  on  foot,  he 
looked  upon  me  as  a  man  whom  he  had  simply  met  in  the 
road. 

"A  return  of  prosperity,"  he  said,  gathering  up  his  bridle 
rein,  "a  fine  return,  indeed.  About  another  such  a  return 
and  this  infernal  world  won't  be  fit  to  live  in.  I  wish  you 
good  morning,  sir." 

That  very  day  there  came  to  school  the  sullen-looking 
boy  whom  I  had  seen  in  the  tobacco  patch.  I  asked  him 
his  name  and  he  answered  that  he  had  forgotten  to  bring 
it  with  him.  "Perhaps,"  said  I,  "it  would  be  well  to  go 
back  and  get  it." 

"If  you  want  it  wus'n  I  do  I  reckon  you  better  go 
atter  it" 

This  set  the  children  to  laughing.  My  humiliation  was 
begun 


88  THE  JUCKLiNS 

"I  understand  why  you  have  come,"  said  I,  "and  I  must 
tell  you  that  you  must  obey  the  rules  if  you  stay  here. 
What  is  your  name?" 

"Gibblits,"  he  answered.  The  children  laughed  and  he 
stood  regarding  me  with  a  leer  lurking  in  the  corners 
of  his  evil-looking  mouth. 

"All  right,  Mr.  Gibblits,  where  are  your  books?"  He 
grinnned  at  me  and  answered:  "Ain't  got  none." 

"Well,  sit  down  over  there  and  I'll  attend  to  you  after  a 
while." 

"Won't  set  down  and  won't  be  attended  to." 

"Well,  then,  I'll  attend  to  you  right  now."  I  grabbed 
him  by  the  collar,  jerked  him  to  me  and  boxed  his  jaws. 
He  ran  out  howling  when  I  turned  him  loose,  and  for  a 
time  he  stood  off  in  the  woods,  throwing  stones  at  the 
house.  The  war  was  begun.  And  I  expected  to  encounter 
the  Aimes  forces  on  my  way  home,  but  saw  nothing  of 
them  as  I  passed  within  sight  of  the  house.  I  hoped  to 
see  a  look  of  sweet  alarm  on  Guinea's  face,  when  I  should 
tell  her  of  the  danger  that  threatened  me,  and  there  was 
sweetness  in  her  countenance,  when  I  told  her,  though  not 
a  look  of  alarm,  but  a  smile  of  amusement.  Was  it  that 
she  felt  no  interest  in  'me?  The  other  members  of  the 
family  were  much  concerned,  but  that  was  no  recompense 
for  the  girl's  apparent  indifference.  The  old  man  snorted, 
Mrs.  Jucklin  was  so  wrought  upon  that  she  strove  to  pre 
pare  me  a  soothing  dish  at  supper,  but  Guinea  remained 
undisturbed.  I  could  not  help  but  speak  to  Alf  about  it 


THE  JUCKL1KS  89 

when  we  had  gone  up  to  our  room.  "Oh,  you  never  can 
tell  anything  about  her,"  he  said.  "It's  not  because  she 
isn't  scared,  but  because  she  hates  to  show  a  thing  of  that 
sort.  Pm  mighty  sorry  it  has  come  about.  But  there's 
only  one  way  out — fight  out  if  they  jump  on  you.  I  don't 
know  how  soon  they  intend  to  do  anything,  but  I'll  nose 
around  and  come  over  to  the  school  this  evening  if  I  hear 
anything.  Don't  let  it  worry  you;  just  put  it  down  as  a 
thing  that  couldn't  be  helped." 

It  did  not  worry  me — the  fact  that  I  might  be  on  the 
verge  of  serious  trouble,  did  not;  but  the  thought  of 
Guinea's  careless  smile  lay  cold  upon  my  heart,  and  all 
night  I  was  restless  under  it.  And  when  I  went  down 
stairs  at  dawn  I  met  her  in  the  passage  way,  carrying  a 
light.  She  looked  up  at  me,  shielding  the  light  with  her 
hand  to  keep  the  breeze  from  blowing  it  out,  and  smiled, 
and  in  her  smile  there  was  no  coolness,  and  yet  there  was 
naught  to  show  me  that  she  had  passed  an  anxious  night. 
Ah,  love,  we  demand  that  you  shall  not  only  be  happy, 
but  miserable  at  our  wish.  We  would  dim  your  eye  when 
our  own  is  blurred;  we  would  smother  your  heart  when 
our  own  is  heavy,  and  would  pierce  it  with  a  pain.  Upon 
her  children  this  old  world  has  poured  the  wisdom  of  her 
gathered  ages,  and  could  we  look  from  another  sphere 
we  might  see  the  minds  of  great  men  twinkling  like  the 
stars,  but  the  human  heart  is  yet  unschooled,  yet  has  no 
range  of  vision,  but  chokes  and  sobs  in  its  own  emotion, 
as  it  did  when  the  first  poet  stood  upon  a  hill  and  cried 


90  THE  JUCKLINS 

aloud  to  an  unknown  God. 

Away  across  the  valley  and  over  the  hills  the  peeping 
sun  was  a  glaring  scollop  when  I  came  out  to  take  my 
course  through  the  woods  toward  the  school.  I  knew 
that  the  girl  stood  in  the  door  behind  me.  Alf  and  the 
old  man  were  already  in  the  field ;  I  could  hear  them  talk 
ing  to  their  horses;  and  Mrs.  Jucklin  was  up  stairs — 
Guinea  and  I  were  alone.  I  turned  and  looked  at  her  and 
again  she  smiled. 

"The  world  seems  to  be  holding  its  breath,  waiting  for 
something  to  happen,"  she  said.  "To  me  it  always  appears 
so  when  there  is  a  lull  in  the  air  just  at  sunrise." 

"What  a  fanciful  little  creature  you  are,"  I  replied. 

"Little!  O'h,  you  mustn't  call  me  little.  I'm  taller  than 
mother.  I  don't  want  to  be  little,  although  it  is  more  ap 
pealing.  I  want  to  be  commanding." 

"But  what  can  be  more  commanding  than  an  appeal?" 
I  asked. 

"Yes,  when  the  appeal  is  pitiful,  but  I  don't  want  any 
one  to  pity  me,"  she  said,  laughing.  "You  big  folks  have 
such  a  patronizing  way.  You  don't  look  well  this  morn 
ing,  Mr.  Hawes.  Is  it  because  you  have  been  worrying 
over  those  wretched  Aimes  boys?  Won't  you  please  for 
give  me?"  she  quickly  added.  "I  don't  know  why  I  said 
that,  for  I  ought  to  know  that  you  are  not  afraid  of  them." 

"I  didn't  sleep  very  well,"  I  answered,  "but  I  was  not 
thinking  of  the  Aimes  boys.  Shall  I  tell  you  what  worried 
me?" 


THE  JUCKLINS  HI 

"Yes,  surely." 

"It  may  require  almost  an  unwarranted  frankness  on 
my  part,  but  I  will  tell  you.    It  seemed  to  me  that — 
1  hesitated.    "Go  on,"  she  said.    "Well,  it  seemed  that  you 
were  strangely  unconcerned  when  I  told  you  that  I  was 
likely  to  have  trouble  with  those  people." 

She  stood  with  her  head  resting  against  the  door-facing. 
I  looked  hard  at  her,  striving  to  catch  some  sign  of  emo 
tion,  but  I  saw  no  evidence  of  feeling;  she  was  cool  and  re 
served. 

"I  don't  know  why  you  should  have  thought  that,"  she 
said.  "Why  should  I  be  so  uncharitable.  I  was  very  sorry 
that  anything  was  likely  to  interrupt  the  school." 

"Oh,"  I  replied,  and  perhaps  with  some  bitterness,  "it 
really  amounts  to  but  little — the  threat  of  those  ruffians, 
I  mean — and  to  speak  about  it  almost  puts  me  down  as  a 
fool.  I  hope  you  will  forgive  me." 

I  hastened  away,  with  a  senseless  anger  in  my  heart, 
ind  I  think  that  it  is  well  that  I  saw  no  member  of  the 
Aimes  family  that  morning  on  my  way  to  school. 

Everything  went  forward  as  usual ;  play-time  came,  and 
*he  children  shouted  in  the  woods,  and  the  hour  for  dis 
missal  had  nearly  arrived  when  in  stalked  Alf  with  a  shot 
gun.  He  nodded  at  me  and  took  a  seat  far  to  the  rear  of 
the  room,  as  if  careful  lest  he  might  interrupt  the  closing 
ceremonies.  And  when  the  last  child  was  gone  my  friend 
forward,  shaking  his  head. 

%  What's  the  trouble  now?"  I  asked,  taking  down  my  hat. 


92  THE  JUCKLINS 

"Tut  your  hat  right  back  there,  unless  you  want  to  wear 
it  in  the  house,"  he  said.  "I  have  found  out?  that  those 
fellows  are  laying  for  you,  and  it  won't  be  safe  to  start 
home  now;  we'll  have  to  wait  until  dark.  Oh,  they'll  get 
you  sure  if  you  go  now.  They  have  been  to  town,  I  under 
stand,  and  have  come  back  pretty  well  loaded  up  with 
whisky.  Oh,  they  are  as  bold  as  lions  now.  But  we'll 
fix  them  all  right.  We'll  wait  until  dark  and1  not  go  by 
the  road,  and  to-morrow  morning  we'll  go  over  and  see 
what  they've  got  to  say." 

"Alf,  I  don't  know  how  to  express  my  thanks  to  you. 
You  are  running  a  great  risk " 

"Don't  mention  that,  Bill.  You  stood  by  me,  you  un 
derstand — walked  right  into  the  General's  house  with  me, 
and  I  said  to  myself  that  if  you  ever  got  into  a  pinch  that 
Pd  be  on  hand  and  stand  with  you.  Did  you  briag  a 
pistol?" 

"Yes,  and  I  am  very  glad  that  I  didn't  meet  one  of  those 
fellows  as  I  came  along.  However,  I  should  not  know 
one  of  them  if  I  were  to  meet  him  in  the  road." 

"But  you'll  know  them  after  a  while.  Do  these  doors 
lock?" 

"I  think  not,  or,  at  least,  they  could  be  easily  forced 
open.  Do  you  think  they  are  likely " 

"They  are  likely  to  do  anything  now,"  he  broke  in.  "And 
there  are  just  four  of  them  big  enough  to  fight — of  the 
boys,  I  mean,  for  the  old  man  has  sense  enough  to  keep 
out  of  it" 


THE  JUCKLINS  W 

"It  is  a  wonder^  then,"  said  I,  "that  he  hasn't  sense 
enough  to  keep  his  sons  out  of  it,  as  he  must  know  that 
no  good  can  be  the  result." 

'That's  all  true  enough,"  Alf  replied,  "but  I  have  heard 
that  you  can't  argue  with  the  instinct  of  a  brute,  and  I 
know  that  it  is  useless  to  argue  with  red  liquor.  Here, 
let's  shove  the  writing  desk  against  this  door,"  he  added. 
"Once  more,  shove  again.  That's  it.  Now  well  pile 
benches  against  the  other  one.  We  can't  do  anything  with 
the  windows,  but  must  simply  keep  out  of  the  way  of  them." 

"Do  you  think  they  will  shoot  through  them?"  I  asked. 

He  halted,  with  the  end  of  a  bench  in  his  grasp,  and 
looked  at  me.  "Bill,  if  I  didn't  know  better  I'd  swear  that 
you  are  not  of  the  South.  Don't  you  know  that  if  you 
enrage  white  trash  it  is  likely  to  do  anything?  Don't  you 
know  that  consequences  are  never  counted?" 

"I  know  all  that,"  I  replied,  "but  I  was  considering  the 
incentive.  I  know  that  if  you  give  the  Cracker  a  cause 
he  will  do  most  anything,  but  have  I  given  him  a  cause?" 

"You  have  given  him  all  the  excuse  he  wants.  One  more 
bench.  That's  it.  And  now  the  fury  of  their  fight  will  de 
pend  upon  the  quantity  of  liquor  they  have  with  them.  I 
didn't  tell  any  of  the  home  folks  that  I  was  coming  here 
— told  them  that  I  might,  meet  you  and  that  we  might 
not  be  home  until  late.  I  wouldn't  be  surprised " 

Out  in  the  woods  there  was  the  blunt  bark  of  a  short 
gun,  the  window  glass  was  splintered  in  a  circle,  a  sharp 
zip  and  a  piece  of  the  clay  "chinking"  flew  from  the  oppo- 


94  THE  JUCKLINS 

site  wall. 

"What  did  I  tell  you?"  said  Alf,  looking  at  me  as  if 
pleased  with  the  proof  of  his  forecast.  "You  get  over  on 
that  side  and  I'll  stay  here.  Get  down  on  the  floor  and 
look  through  between  the  logs  if  you  can  find  a  place, 
and  if  you  can't  punch  out  the  dirt,  but  be  easy;  they  might 
see  you.  There  he  is  again."  The  glass  in  the  other  win 
dow  was  shattered.  "That's  all  right,"  said  Alf.  "They 
may  charge  on  us  after  a  while,  and  then  we'll  let  them 
have  it.  Have  you  found  a  place?" 

"I  have  made  one,"  I  answered,  lying  flat  on  the  floor, 
gazing  out.  No  shot  had  been  fired  from  my  side,  and  I 
had  begun  to  think  that  the  entire  force  was  confronting 
Alf  when  in  the  sobering  light  I  saw  a  man  standing  beside 
a  tree  not  more  than  fifty  yards  distant.  He  appeared  to 
be  talking  to  some  one,  for  I  saw  him  look  round  and 
nod  his  head.  I  did  not  want  to  kill  him,  although  the 
law  was  plainly  on  my  side,  but  a  man  may  stand  shoulder 
to  shoulder  with  the  law  and  yet  wound  his  own  con 
science.  Another  figure  came  within  sight,  among  the 
bushes,  appearing  to  rise  out  of  the  leafy  darkness,  and 
then  there  came  .a  loud  shout:  "Come  out  of  there,  you 
coward !" 

"Don't  say  a  word,"  said  Alf.  "They  are  trying  to  lo 
cate  you.  I  don't  see  anybody  yet,  and  it's  getting  most 
too  dark  now.  But  I  reckon  we'd  both  better  fire  to  let 
them  know  that  there  is  more  than  one  of  us.  We  don't 
want  to  take  any  advantage  of  them,  you  know,"  he  added, 


THE  JUCKLINS  % 

laughing. 

"It  doesn't  look  as  if  we  were,"  I  answered.  "I  could 
kill  one  of  them,  Alf." 

"The  devil  you  could!  Then  do  it.  Here,  let  me  get 
at  him." 

"No,"  I  replied,  waving  him  off  from  my  peep-hole.  It 
is  better  not  to  kill  him  until  we  are  forced  to." 

"But  we  are  forced  to  now,  don't  you  see?  They've 
shot  at  us.  There  you  are!"  They  had  fired  a  volley,  it 
seemed.  "Let  me  get  at  him,"  said  Alf. 

"I'll  try  him,"  I  replied.  And  I  poked  the  barrel  of  my 
pistol  through  the  crack,  pretended  to  take  a  careful  aim 
and  fired. 

"Did  you  get  him?"  Alf  asked. 

"Don't  know;  can't  see  very  well." 

"Well,  if  I  find  one  of  them  he's  gone,"  he  replied,  re 
turning  to  his  own  look-out.  And  a  moment  later  the 
almost  simultaneous  discharge  of  both  barrels  of  his  gun 
jarred  the  house.  "Don't  know  whether  I  got  him  or  not," 
he  said,  as  he  drew  back  and  began  to  reload,  "for  I 
couldn't  see  very  well,  but  I'll  bet  he  thinks  a  hurri 
cane  came  along  through  the  bushes.  It's  too  dark  now 
to  see  anything  and  all  we  can  do  is  to  wait" 

"Wait  for  what?"  I  asked. 

"Wait  for  them  to  try  to  break  in.  They'll  try  it  after 
they  have  had  a  few  more  pulls  at  the  bottle,  I  think.  Now 
let's  keep  perfectly  quiet  and  watch." 

The  moon  had  not  yet  risen  and  the  woods  stood  about 


96  THE  JUCKLINS 

us  like  a  black  wall.  No  wind  was  abroad,  the  air  in  the 
house  was  close,  and  I  could  hear  my  own  heart  beating 
against  the  floor.  There  was  scarcely  any  use  to  look  out 
now,  for  nothing  could  be  seen,  and  I  arose  and  sat  with 
my  back  against  the  wall,  taking  care  to  keep  clear  of  the 
small  opening  which  I  had  made.  It  was  so  dark  in  the 
room  that  I  could  not  see  Alf,  but  I  could  hear  him,  for 
softly  he  was  humming  a  tune:  "Hi,  Bettie  Martin,  tip 
toe  fine."  For  days  he  had  been  heavy  with  the  melancholy 
of  his  love,  but  now  in  this  hour  of  danger  his  heart  seemed 
to  be  light  and  attuned  to  a  rollicking  air.  I  have  known 
many  a  man  to  breathe  a  delicious  thrill  in  an  atmosphere 
of  peril,  to  feel  a  leap  of  the  blood,  a  gladness,  but  it  was 
at  a  time  of  intense  excitement,  a  sort  of  epic  joy;  but  how 
could  a  man,  lying  in  the  dark,  waiting  for  he  knew  not 
what — how  could  he  put  down  a  weighty  care  and  take 
up  a  lightsome  tithe? 

Down  in  the  hollow  a  screech  owl  was  crying,  and  his 
mate  on  the  hill-top  replied  to  his  call,  while  in  the  room 
near  me  was  the  whif  of  a  bat.  And  Alf  was  now  so  silent 
that  I  thought  he  must  have  fallen  asleep,  but  soon  I  heard 
him  softly  whistling:  "Hi,  Bettie  Martin,  tip-tip-toe  fine." 

"You  seem  to  be  enjoying  yourself,"  said  I.  "If  you  had 
brought  a  fiddle  we  might  have  a  dance." 

I  heard  him  titter  as  he  wallowed  on  the  floor.  "This 
is  fun,"  he  said,  "the  only  real  fun  I've  had  since — I  was 
going  to  say  since  the  war,  but  I  was  too  young  to  go  into 
society  at  that  time." 


THE  JUCKLINS  97 

''What  do  you  think  they  are  up  to  now,  Alf  ?"  I  asked. 

"Blamed  if  I  know.    Getting  tired?" 

"Well,  I  don't  want  to  stay  here  all  night.  What  are 
we  waiting  for?" 

"It's  hard  to  tell  just  at  present,  and  if  we  don't  get  a 
more  encouraging  report  pretty  soon  we'll  break  the  en 
gagement  and  go  home.  What's  that?" 

I  listened  and  at  first  heard  nothing,  and  was  just  about 
to  say  that  it  must  be  the  screech-owl  come  closer,  when 
from  a  corner  of  the  house  there  came  a  distant  and  sharp 
crackle.  I  hear-d  Alf  scuffle  to  his  feet.  " We  are  in  for  it !" 

It  was  true,  for  now  we  could  see  the  light  glaring  on 
the  bushes  and  a  moment  later  a  spear  of  light  shot  in 
ward,  revealing  my  friend  standing  there  with  his  hands 
buried  deep  in  his  pockets.  "Those  old  logs  are  as  dry 
as  a  powder  horn,"  he  carelessly  remarked.  "Won't  take 
long  to  burn  the  thing  down." 

"But  what  are  we  going  to  do?"  I  cried.  And  now  the 
room  was  aglow,  and  shadows  were  dancing  on  the  wall. 

/'I  was  just  thinking,"  said  he,  looking  about.  "They'll 
begin  shooting  in  here  as  soon  as  that  end  is  burned  out. 
Wish  I  had  seen  that  rascal  when  he  slipped  up  here  to 
kindle  this  fire.  Helloa,  it's  spread  to  the  roof." 

I  strove  to  show  him  that  I  could  be  as  calm  and  as 
careless  as  he,  but  now  I  was  startled,  and  excitedly  ex 
claimed  :  "We  shall  be  burned  up  like  rats  in  a  barn !" 

"Oh,  I  reckon  not.  Here,  let's  pull  up  a  plank  out  of  the 
floor  and  crawl  under  and  if  we  can  get  into  the  bushes 


98  TKB  JUCKLtNS 

we'll  be  all  right.  Here's  a  crack.  But  I  can't  move  it," 
he  added,  after  straining  at  the  board.  "See  if  you  can 
get  your  ringers  through  here." 

I  dropped  upon  my  knees  and  thrust  my  fingers 
through  the  crack.  The  fire  had  now  gained  such  head 
way  that  the  air  was  hot  and  a  glare  danced  on  the  wall 
where  the  shadow  had  crept;  and  we  heard  the  Aimes 
boys  yell  in  the  woods  a  short  distance  off.  With  all  my 
strength  I  pulled  at  the  board;  I  got  off  my  knees  and 
braced  myself,  and  with  a  quick  jerk  the  board  came  up 
with  a  loud  rip  and  I  fell  backward  on  the  floor. 

"Go  ahead,"  said  Alf,  quietly  standing  there,  with  his 
gun  under  his  arm.  "Get  down  through  and  work  your 
way  toward  the  other  end." 

"You  go  first,  Alf." 

"I'm  in  no  hurry.  But  may  be  I  know  of  an  opening 
where  the  sheep  come  under  in  winter.  Follow  me,  then." 

Down  we  went  into  the  fine  and  suffocating  dust.  Here 
and  there  the  sheep  and  the  hogs  had  dug  deep  beds  in 
their  restlessness,  when  nights  had  been  cold,  but  in  places 
the  floor  was  so  close  to  the  ground  that  I  could  scarcely 
crawl  through.  We  heard  one  end  of  the  roof  fall  in,  and 
then  a  volley  was  fired  from  the  woods. 

"What  did  I  tell  you?"  said  Alf.  "We  understand  their 
tactics,  any  way.  Don't  believe  you  can  get  through  here, 
Bill.  Wait,  I  can  dig  down  this  lump  with  my  gun.  Wish 
I  had  a  hatchet  Ever  notice  how  handy  a  hatdhet  is?" 

"For  God's  sake,  let  me  get!  at  it,  Alf.    I  can  feel  the 


THE  JUCKLINS  »9 

heat.    The  whole  thing  will  fall  down  on  us  in  a  minute. 
That'll  do;  I  can  squeeze  through." 

Alf  crawled  into  one  of  the  deep  beds  and  reached  back 
to  help  pull  me  through.  "Bill,  looks  like  this  place 
was  made  for  you,  only  I  wish  they  had  made  it  a  trifle 
bigger.  Once  more." 

And  there  I  strugggled  and  there  he  pulled.  "I  arn 
gone,  Alf;  I  can't  get  out.  Save  yourself  if  you  can." 

"If  you  can't  get  out  I  know  you  are  not  gone,  Bill,"  he 
replied  with  a  laugh,  but  it  was  a  laugh  of  despair  rather 
than  of  merriment.  "Don't  give  up.  Once  more.  You 
are  coming.  What  did  I  tell  you?"  And  again  he  laughed, 
but  not  in  despair.  We  were  now  at  the  wall,  at  the  very 
hole  through  which  the  sheep  were  wont  to  come  in. 
"You  first,  this  time,  Bill.  Sheer  off  to  the  left.  The 
bushes  are  not  more  than  fifteen  feet  away." 

With  but  little  difficulty  I  squeezed  through  the  open 
ing.  And  now  I  was  in  a  hot  and  dazzling  glare.  A  breeze 
had  sprung  up  with  the  flames,  and  behind  me  was  a  roar, 
and  a  crash  of  the  falling  beams.  I  looked  not  about  me, 
but  straight  ahead  toward  the  thicket,  now  waving  as  if 
swept  by  a  strong  wind ;  and  within  a  minute  after  reach 
ing  the  outer  air  I  was  crawling  through  a  thick  clump  of 
blackberry  briars,  with  Alf  close  upon  my  heels.  We  soon 
came  upon  a  sheep-walk  covered  with  briars,  and  now  we 
could  make  faster  time.  The  Aimes  boys  were  still  firing 
into  the  burning  house,  and  it  was  evident  that  they  had 
not  discovered  our  escape. 


100  THE  JUCKLINS 

"We  can  walk  now,"  Alf  whispered.  "Turn  down  here 
to  the  right  and  keep  the  shumac  bushes  between  us  and 
them.  Now  we  are  all  right." 

Not  another  word  was  spoken  until  we  had  reached 
a  knoll,  some  distance  away.  Then  we  halted  and  looked 
back.  And  now  the  old  house  was  but  a  blazing  heap. 
Alf  was  peeping  about  through  the  trees,  and  suddenly 
his  gaze  was  set.  He  cocked  his  gun  and  brought  it  to 
his  shoulder. 

"No,"  I  said.  "You  will  only  regret  it."  I  grasped  the 
gun  and  both  hammers  fell  upon  my  hand.  "Get  back!" 
he  commanded. 

"No,"  I  said,  my  hand  still  under  the  hammers.  "You 
must  not." 

He  looked  hard  at  me  for  a  moment  and  then  suffered 
me  to  take  the  gun.  The  fire  was  now  dying,  and,  look 
ing  to  the  left,  whence  the  firing  had  come,  I  saw  two  of 
the  Aimes  boys  standing  under  a  tree. 

"Bill,  I  could  kill  both  of  them,"  Alf  said,  in  a  sorrowful 
voice. 

"I  know,  my  dear  boy,  but  you  must  not.  You  would 
always  regret  it.  We  will  let  the  law  take  charge  of  them 
to-morrow." 

"Not  to-morrow,  Bill,  but  to-night.  To-morrow  they 
will  be  gone." 

"All  right;  just  as  you  say.  Where  is  the  nearest  offi 
cer?" 

"A  deputy  sheriff  lives  about  two  miles  from  here,  off 


THE  JUCKLIKS  101 

to  the  right  of  our  road  home.    Come  on." 

We  came  into  the  road  after  making  a  circuit  through 
the  woods;  and  hastened  onward.  And  we  must  have 
gone  nearly  half  the  distance  to  the  deputy's  house  when 
we  heard  the  Aimes  boys  coming  behind  us,  drunk  and 
whooping.  "They  think  we  are  burnt  up,"  said  Alf ;  "but 
we'll  show  them.  Let's  get  aside  into  the  bushes,  and  when 
they  come  along  we'll  let  them  have  it." 

"We  will  get  aside  into  the  bushes,"  said  I,  "but  we  will 
not  let  them  have  it  Come  over  this  side.  Let  me  have 
your  gun." 

He  let  me  take  the  gun,  and,  as  he  stood  near  me,  wait 
ing  for  the  ruffians  to  pass,  I  thought  that  he  made  an  un 
seemly  degree  of  noise,  merely  to  attract  their  attention 
so  that  he  might  have  an  opportunity  to  fire  at  them. 
"Keep  still,  Alf,"  I  whispered. 

They  came  down  the  road,  singing  a  bawdy  song.  For 
a  moment  I  was  half  inclined  to  give  Alf  his  gun,  but  that 
early  lesson,  the  waylaying  of  Bentley,  restrained  me. 
We  heard  the  scoundrels  talking  between  their  outbursts 
of  song.  "Piece  of  roast  hog  wouldn't  go  bad  jest  about 
now,  Scott.  I  feel  sorter  gnawish  after  my  excitement  of 
the  evenin'." 

"Wall,  if  you  air  hongry  and  hanker  atter  hog,  why 
don't  you  go  back  yander  and  git  a  piece  that  we've  jest 
roasted?" 

Alf's  hand  closed  about  the  barrels  of  his  gun,  and 
strongly  he  pulled,  but  I  loosened  his  grip  and  whispered: 


1G2  THE  JUCKLINS 

"Let  them  go.  There  is  no  honor  and  very  little  revenge 
in  shooting  a  brute." 

"I  reckon  you  are  right,"  he  replied,  but  he  did  not 
whisper,  and  out  in  the  road  there  was  a  quick  scuf 
fling  of  feet  and  then  a  halt.  I  threw  one  arm  about  Alf 
and  pressed  one  hand  over  higi  mouth. 

"What  was  that,  Scott?" 

"I  didn't  hear  nothin'." 

"Thought  I  heared  somebody  a-talkin?." 

"Yes,  you  thought  like  Young's  niggers — thought  buck 
eyes  was  biscuits.  Come  on,  boys.  We'll  go  over  and 
wake  old  Josh  up  and  git  more  licker." 

They  passed  on,  and  when  I  had  given  Alf  the  oppor 
tunity  to  speak  he  said :  "Good.  They  are  going  over  to  a 
negro's  house  and  we'll  get  there  about  the  time  they  do, 
and  if  we  can't  get  anybody  but  the  deputy  to  help  us  we'll 
have  to  kill  one  or  two  of  them.  Now  keep  up  with  me." 

Off  through  the  woods  he  went  at  a  trot,  leaping  logs 
and  splashing  through  a  brook  where  it  was  broad; 
and  I  kept  well  up  with  him.  Already  my  mind  had 
ceased  to  dwell  upon  the  narrowness  of  our  escape;  I  was 
thinking  of  Guinea  as  she  had  stood,  shielding  the  light 
with  her  hand. 


THE  JUCKL1NS 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

We  were  not  long  in  reaching  the  house  of  the  deputy 
sheriff.  A  loud  call  brought  him  out  to  the  fence.  And 
when  we  had  quickly  told  him  what  was  wanted,  he 
whistled  to  express  his  gratification  or  his  surprise  and  I 
fancied  that  I  saw  his  hair  bristling  in  the  moonlight,  for 
he  had  come  out  bareheaded. 

"Now  let  me  think  a  minute,  boys,"  said  he.  "I  have 
been  an  officer  long  enough  to  know  that  it  ain't  much 
credit  to  take  a  fellow  after  he's  dead — most  anybody  can 
do  that.  What  we  want  is  to  capture  them  and  to  do  that 
we've  got  to  have  more  men.  Alf,  I  tell  you  what  you  do. 
You  and  your  friend  slip  over  to  old  Josh's  and  keep  watch 
to  see  that  they  don't  get  away,  and  I'll  ride  as  fast  as 
I  can  and  get  General  Lundsford  and  your  daddy.  What 
do  you  say?" 

"I  say  it's  a  first-rate  plan,"  Alf  answered.  "I  don't 
think  the  General  would  like  to  be  left  out  and  I  know 
that  father  wouldn't.  Come  on,  Bill." 

The  negro's  house  was  not  far  away,  and  hastening  si 
lently  through  the  woods  we  soon  came  within  sight  of  it, 
on  the  side  of  a  hill,  at  the  edge  of  a  worn--out  field.  We 
softened  our  foot-steps  as  we  drew  near  unto  the 


104  THE  JUCKL1NS 

cabin,  and  we  could  hear  the  ruffians  within, 
singing,  swearing,  dancing.  We  halted  at  the 
edge  of  the  woods,  within  ten  feet  of  the  door, 
and  listened.  "Let  us  slip  up  and  take  a  peep  at  them,?> 
said  Alf;  and  carefully  we  climbed  over  the  old  fence, 
taking  care  not  to  break  any  of  the  rotting  rails  lest  we 
might  sound  an  alarm.  We  made  not  the  slightest  noise, 
but  just  as  we  were  within  touching  distance  of  the  cabins 
a  dog  sprang  from  behind  a  box  in  the  chimney  corner.  J 
don't  know  how  much  noise  it  might  have  been  his  inten* 
tion  to  make  or  whether  he  belonged  to  the  stealthy  breed 
of  curs  whose  delight  it  is  to  make  a  silent  lunge  at  the 
legs  of  a  visitor,  but  I  do  know  that  he  made  not  a  sound, 
for  I  grabbed  him  by  the  throat  and  the  first  thing  he  knew 
his  eyes  were  popping  out  between  their  fuzzy  lids.  I 
choked  him  until  I  thought  he  must  be  dead,  and  then, 
with  a  swing,  I  threw  him  far  over  the  fence  into  the  woods. 
We  listened  and  heard  him  scrambling  in  the  dried  leaves 
and  then  he  was  still.  The  cabin  was  built  of  poles  and 
was  old.  Many  a  rain  had  beaten  against  the  "chinking" 
and  we  had  no  trouble  in  finding  openings  through  which 
we  could  plainly  see  all  that  went  forward  within.  Just 
as  I  looked  in  I  heard  the  twang  of  a  banjo,  and  I  saw  the 
old  negro  sitting  on  the  edge  of  a  bed,  picking  the  instru 
ment,  while  two  white  men  were  patting  a  break-down 
and  two  others  were  trying  to  dance.  At  the  fire-place  a 
negro  woman  was  frying  meat  and  baking  a  hoe-cake. 
"Generman,"  said  the  negro,  twanging  his  strings  and 


THE  JDCKLINS  105 

measuring  his  words  to  suit  his  tune,  "don't  want  right 
now  to  be  so  pertinence — be  so  pertinence;  but,  yes,  I'd 
like  to  know,  hi,  hi,  hi,  yes,  like  to  know  whut  you  gwine 
gimme  fur  dis  yere,  yes,  whut  you  gwine  gimme  fur  all  dis 
yere?" 

The  patting  ceased  instantly,  and  the  two  men  danced 
not  another  shuffle,  and  one  of  them,  Scott,  I  afterward 
learned,  cried  out:  "What,  you  old  scoundrel,  air  you 
dunnin'  us  already?" 

"Oh,  naw,  sah,  skuze  me,"  said  the  old  negro,  "I  ain't 
doin'  dat,  fur  I  dun  tole  you  dat  I  didn'  want  ter  be  perti 
nence,  but  dar's  some  things,  you  know,  dat  er  pusson 
would  like  ter  un'erstan',  an'  whut  I  gwine  git  fur  all  dis 
yere  is  one  o'  'em.  I  has  gib  you  licker  an'  I  has  gib  you 
music,  an'  wife,  dar,  is  cookin'  supper  fur  you,  an'  it  ain' 
no  mo'  den  reason  dat  I'd  wanter  know  whut  we  gwine  git 
fur  it." 

"Well,  we'll  pay  you  all  right  enough,"  replied  Scott 
Aimes.  "You've  always  treated  us  white,  and  you  are  about 
the  only  man  in  this  neighborhood  that  has." 

"I  thankee,  sah,"  the  negro  rejoined;  "yas,  I  thankee, 
sah,  fur  I  jest  wanted  ter  be  satisfied  in  my  mine,  an'  I 
tell  you  dat  when  er  pusson  is  troubled  in  his  mine  he's 
outen  fix  sho  nuff.  Hurry  up  dar,  Tildy,  wid  you  snack, 
fur  deze  genermen  is  a-haungry." 

"I  hope  she  won't  get  it  ready  any  too  soon,"  I  whis 
pered  to  Alf,  and  he,  with  his  face  close  to  mine,  replied: 
"You  can  trust  an  old  negro  woman  for  that.  It  won't 


106  THE  JUCKLINS 

take  Parker  very  long  to  ride  over  to  the  General's  house, 
and  they  can  pick  up  father  on  the  way  back." 

" Won't  your  mother  and — and  Guinea  be  frightened?" 

"Not  much.  They've  seen  the  old  man  go  out  on  the 
war  path  more  than  once.  Let's  see  what  they  are  doing 
now." 

Scott  had  taken  the  banjo  and  was  turning  it  crster,  look 
ing  at  it.  We  saw  him  take  out  a  knife  and  then  with  a 
twang  he  cut  the  strings.  "Good  Lawd!"  exclaimed  the 
negro,  and  his  wife  turned  from  the  fire  with  a  look  of 
sorrow  and  reproach,  for  the  distressful  sound  had  told 
her  accustomed  ear  that  a  calamity  had  befallen  the  instru 
ment.  "Now  jest  look  whut  you  done!"  the  negro  cried, 
and  his  wife,  wiping  her  hands  on  her  apron,  looked  at 
Scott  Aimes  and  said:  "Ef  dat's  de  way  you  gwine  ack, 
I'll  burn  dis  yere  braid  an'  fling  dis  yere  meat  in  de  fire. 
Er  body  workin'  fur  you  ez  hard  ez  I  is,  an'  yere  you  come 
er  doin'  dat  way.  It's  er  shame,  sah,  dat's  whut  it  is.  It's 
er  plum  shame,  I  doan  kere  ef  you  is  white  an  me  black." 

Scott  roughly  tossed  the  banjo  into  a  corner  and 
laughed.  "Sounds  a  blamed  sight  better  in  death  than 
in  life,"  said  he. 

"But  who  gwine  pay  fur  dat  death  music?"  the  negro 
asked. 

"Pay  for  it!"  Scott  turned  fiercely  upon  the  negro  an^ 
Alf  caught  up  his  gun.  "Wait!"  I  whispered. 

"Pay  for  it !"  Scott  raved.  "Why  yon  infernal  old  scoun 
drel,  do  we  have  to  pay  every  time  we  turn  round?  But 


THE  JUCKLINS  10? 

we'll  make  it  all  right  with  you,"  he  added,  turning  away; 
and  Alf  lowered  his  gun. 

"I  hopes  ter  de  Lawd  you  will,"  said  the  woman,  "fur 
we  needs  it  bad  enough." 

"You  do?"  Scott  replied.  "Well,  you'd  better  be  thank 
ful  that  we  don't  blow  on  you  for  sellin'  whisky  without 
license." 

"Dar  ain'  no  proof  o'  de  fack  dat  I  has  sol'  none  ter- 
night,"  said  the  old  negro,  shaking  his  head. 

"What's  that?"  Scott  demanded,  wheeling  round. 

"Skuze  me,  sah,  nothin'  er  tall.  Jest  er  passin'  de  time 
o'  de  day,  sah." 

"Didn't  I  tell  you  that  we  would  pay  you  for  everything 
we  got?" 

"Yas,  sah,  an'  you's  er  generman,  sah;  yas,  I  thanks 
you  fur  gwinter  pay  me." 

"Yo'  supper  is  done  an'  ef  you'll  jest  gib  me  room  I'll 
fix  de  table,"  the  woman  remarked,  taking  the  bread  off 
the  griddle. 

"I  hear  them  coming!"  Alf  whispered  I  looked  round 
and  saw  them  at  the  fence.  They  had  tied  their  horses  in 
the  woods.  We  stepped  out  from  the  shadow  and  held 
up  our  hands  to  enjoin  care. 

"I'll  go  first,  and  you  boys  follow  me,"  said  the  Gen 
eral,  cocking  his  pistol  and  letting  the  hammer  down  to 
see  if  it  worked  well. 

"Oh,  I  reckon  not,"  Lim  Jucklin  replied.  "I'm  older 
than  you  are  and  you  know  it.  Come  on,  boys." 


108  THE  JUCKLINS 

"Older!"  the  General  exclaimed,  with  such  force  that 
we  had  to  tell  him  to  make  less  noise.  "I  am  eight  months 
older  than  you  are,  and  you  know  it.  Come  on,  boys." 

Old  Lim  took  hold  of  him.  "This  ain't  altogether  your 
picnic;  the  invertations  come  from  my  house,  and " 

"What  the  devil  difference  does  it  make?"  the  deputy 
spoke  up.  "I'm  the  only  officer  present  and  I'll  go  first." 

I  thought  that  it  was  my  time  to  act,  and,  telling  them 
to  follow  me,  I  reached  the  door  almost  at  a  stride  and 
threw  my  full  weight  against  it.  The  door  flew  off  its 
hinges  and  fell  on  the  floor  broad-side,  and  the  Aimes 
brothers,  now  seated  at  a  table,  were  "covered"  with  guns 
and  pistols  before  they  had  time  to  stir  in  their  chairs, 
They  appeared  to  be  horror-stricken  at  seeing  Alf  and  me, 
and  in  a  moment  their  hands  were  in  the  air. 

"Josh,"  the  deputy  commanded,  "bring  us  a  plow  line 
Never  mind,  you  haven't  time  for  that.  Take  off  that 
bed  cord." 

The  woman  had  squeezed  herself  into  a  corner,  between 
a  "cubbord"  and  the  wall,  but  she  came  out  and  protested 
against  the  use  of  her  bed  cord.  "Get  that  cord !"  the  dep 
uty  commanded.  "Move  that  hand  again,  Scott  Aimes 
and  I'll  kill  you.  Here  we  are,"  he  added,  when  the  negro 
had  tumbled  off  the  bed-clothes  and  unfastened  the  cord. 
"Now  cut  it  in  four  pieces." 

"Fur  de  Lawd's  sake!"  the  woman  shouted,  "you  air*' 
gwine  treat  er  pusson  datter  way,  is  you?  Fust  da  cuts  de 
banjo  strings  an'  den  yere  come  de  law  an'  cuts  de  bed 


THE  JUCKL1NS  1W 

cawd.    Laws  er  massy  whut  got  inter  dis  worP  no  how." 

"Keep  quiet,"  said  the  deputy.  "Here,  big  man,  tie  their 
wrists  and  don't  be  afraid  of  hurting  them.  I've  had  my 
eye  on  you  gentlemen  for  some  time.  That's  it,  give  it  to 
them  hard.  Tie  their  ankles,  too.  But  we  have  only  four 
pieces  of  rope.  Go  now  and  get  a  plow-line,  Josh."  . 

We  put  back  the  table  and  the  chairs  and  stood  our 
prisoners  in  the  center  of  the  room,  sullen  and  coarse- 
featured  brutes,  and  waited  for  the  negro  to  come  with  the 
plow-line,  and  presently  he  appeared  with  a  new  grass 
rope.  "That's  Just  exactly  what  we  want,"  said  the  dep 
uty.  "Cut  it  in  four  pieces,  and,  big  man,"  he  continued, 
speaking  to  me,  "I  must  again  call  on  you.  Tight  around 
the  shank  and  no  feelings  considered.  That's  it;  you  go 
at  it  in  the  right  way — must  have  tied  chickens  for  the 
market.  I  must  really  beg  pardon  of  these  gentlemen 
for  not  getting  a  warrant;  we  were  pushed  for  time  and, 
therefore,  we  are  a  trifle  irregular,  but  my  dear  sirs,  I 
promise  you  that  you  shall  have  a,  warrant  just  as  soon  as 
we  get  into  Purdy.  You  should  be  satisfied  with  my  ad 
mitting  that  I  am  irregular." 

The  General  roared  with  a  great  laugh.  "Your  apol 
ogy  is  of  the  finest  feather,  the  most  gracious  down,"  said 
he,  "but  our  friends  must  remember  that  in  an  irregularity 
often  lie  some  of  the  most  precious  merits  of  this  life." 

"If  we  hadn't  been  huddled  round  this  here  table  you 
wouldn't  be  havin'  sich  fun,"  said  Scott  Aimes,  quivering 
under  my  strong  pull  at  the  rope.  "We  never  did  ask 


JO  THE  JUCKL1NS 

nothin'  but  a  fair  show,  but  we  didn't  git  it  this  time,  by 
a  long  shot." 

"Silence,  brute,"  the  General  commanded.  "As  low  as 
you  are,  you  should  know  better  than  to  break  in  upon  the 
high  spirits  of  a  gentleman.  Oh,  I  have  understood  you 
all  along.  You  were  working  your  courage  toward  me. 
Hush,  don't  you  speak  a  word." 

"Got  them  all  strung?"  the  deputy  asked,  examining 
the  ropes.  "Good.  Now,  Josh,  you  run  over  to  my  house 
as  fast  as  you  can  and  tell  my  wife  that  you  want  the  two- 
horse  wagon.  And  hitch  it  up  and  come  back  here  as 
last  as  you  can.  Go  on;  I'll  pay  you  for  everything." 

"Thankee,  sah,  I'm  gone.  It  loosens  er  ole  pusson's 
feet,  sah,  ter  know  dat  he  gwine  be  paid.  Hard  times  allus 
cornin'  down  de  big  road,  er  kickin'  up  er  dust." 

"Are  you  going?"  the  deputy  stormed.  "Confound  you; 
I'll  put  you  in  jail  for  selling  whisky  if  you  are  not  back 
here  in  fifteen  minutes." 

"Gone  now!"  exclaimed  the  negro,  bounding  from  the 
door  and  striking  a  trot.  "Gone !"  we  heard  him  repeat,  as 
1'e  leaped  over  the  fence. 

"Mr.  Parker,"  said  Scott  Aimes,  stretching  his  neck 
I  nvard  the  officer,  "I've  jest  got  one  favor  to  ask  of  you. 
(  rt  that  bottle  over  thar  an'  give  us  fellers  a  drink.  It  was 
Lc  kcr  that  got  us  into  this  here  muss,  an'  you  ought  to  let 
rrker  help  us  a  little  now." 

''Old  fellow  used  to  keep  a  grocery  over  at  Blue  Lick," 
Ik*  deputy  remarked,  looking  at  me  rather  than  at  the 


THE  JUCKLINS  11) 

prisoner,  "and  when  a  man's  money  was  all  gone  he  used 
to  say :  'Lord  love  you,  honey,  I  couldn't  think  of  letting 
you  take  another  drop;  Fm  so  much  interested  in  youi 
welfare  that  I  don't  want  to  see  you  hurt  yourself.'  No, 
Scottfield" — and  now  he  looked  at  the  prisoner — "I  am  too 
much  interested  in  you  to  see  you  throw  yourself  away. 
Don't  be  impatient.  'Just  wait  f°r  tne  wagon,'  says  the 
old  song." 

The  old  General  had  sat  down,  but  old  Lim  continued 
to  stand  there,  his  arms  bare  and  his  teeth  hard-set.  On 
his  countenance  lay  the  shadow  of  a  regret,  and  I  have 
thought  that  he  was  grieved  at  the  spoiling  of  the  fight 
that  he  thought  should  have  taken  place  to  reward  him 
for  the  trouble  of  leaving  home.  The  prisoners  winced 
under  his  gaze,  as  his  eyes  leaped  about  from  one  to  an 
other.  But  he  said  not  a  word;  just  stood  there,  with  his 
teeth  hard-set. 

Soon  we  heard  the  wagon,  rumbling  along  the  road  that 
skirted  the  old  field,  and  we  began  to  set  our  prisoners 
near  the  door,  picking  them  up  and  putting  them  down 
like  upright  sticks.  The  wagon  drew  up  ne^r  the  door, 
the  woman  held  a  light  for  us  and  we  began  our  work 
of  loading.  And  I  was  glad  when  the  deputy  said  that 
he  no  longer  needed  our  assistance ;  I  was  afraid  that  he 
would  ask  me  to  drive  to  town  with  him. 

"Well,"  he  said,  gathering  up  the  lines  and  glancing 
back  at  his  load,  "a  pretty  good  haul  for  these  hard  times. 
Whoa,  wait  a  minute.  Say,  General,  I  suppose  you  haw 


112  TEE  JUCKI5INS 

heard  some  talk  of  my  candidacy  for  the  office  of  sheriff, 
and  I  reckon  you  have  seen  to-night  whether  or  not  I  am 
worthy  of  the  trust.  It's  always  well  to  put  in  a  word  in 
time,  you  know.  I  reckon  I've  got  you  all  right,  Alf,  and, 
big  man,  wish  you  could  vote  with  us  this  time.  Well, 
I'll  let  you  gentlemen  know  when  you  are  wanted  at 
court." 

Old  Lim  and  the  General  led  their  horses  and  walked 
with  Alf  and  me;  and  we  heard  many  a  grunt  and  snort 
as  we  told  of  the  burning  of  the  school-house.  Old  Lim 
swore  that  I  ought  to  have  let  Alf  kill  Scott  Aimes,  but 
the  General  sided  with  me.  "That  would  have  done  no 
good,  Lim,"  said  he.  "It's  far  better  as  we  now  have  it. 
I  am  glad  to  see,  Mr.  Hawes,  that  you  have  so  much  dis 
cretion,  a  most  noble  quality,  sir.  Now  as  to  the  loss  of 
the  house,  that  amounts  to  nothing.  It  ought  to  have 
been  set  afire  long  ago.  And  I'll  tell  you  what  shall  be 
done :  A  new  building  shall  be  put  up  at  once,  not  of  logs, 
but  of  frame,  and  it  shall  be  neatly  painted  to  show  people 
that  we  are  keeping  up  with  the  times.  Every  neighbor 
hood  about  us  has  a  fine  school-house ;  the  old  log  huts 
have  disappeared,  and  we  are  going  to  march  right  in  the 
van,  sir.  But  I  want  to  tell  you  right  now  that  it  was  in 
those  log  school-houses  that  the  greatest  men  in  the  nation 
have  been  taught;  and  when  I  see  a  pile  of  logs  out  in  the 
woods  I  fancy  that  I  can  hear  the  classics  lowly  hummed." 

"Gentlemen,"  said  old  Lim,  "if  it  was  day  time  instead 
of  night  I  would  invite  you  to  see  some  of  the  finest  sport 


THE  JUCKLINS  11& 

you  ever  run  across,  for  Fm  in  the  humor  for  it  right  now. 
But  chickens  have  a  prejudice  agin  fightin'  at  night.  Many 
a  time  when  I  had  trouble  on  my  mind  and  couldn't  sleep 
I've  got  up  and  tried  to  stir  their  blood,  but  they  want 
to  nod;  that's  what  they  want  to  do  at  night — nothin' 
but  nod,  unless  you've  got  light  enough,  and  then  if  you 
stir  'em  up  they'll  git  so  mad  that  they'll  go  it  smack  to  a 
finish." 

"Talking  about  those  chickens?"  the  General  asked. 
"Confound  them,  they'd  have  no  attraction  for  me  if  it 
were  mid-day.  But  pardon  me.  I  mean  simply  that  I  take 
no  interest  in  such  things." 

Old  Lim  grunted.  "Right  here  is  where  I  git  on  my 
horse,"  said  he.  And  he  mounted  and  rode  on  ahead  in 
moody  silence. 

I  was  now  walking  beside  the  General  and  Alf  was  just 
behind  me.  Several  times  the  young  man  sighed  distress 
fully  and  I  knew  that  something  heavy  had  fallen  upon 
his  mind.  Presently  he  pulled  at  my  coat  and  as  I  dropped 
back  he  took  my  place.  "General,  you  said  just  now  that 
Bill  was  right  in  not  letting  me  shoot  that  fellow,  Scott 
Aimes."  He  hesitated  and  was  silent  for  a  few  moments, 
striding  beside  the  General,  and  the, General  said  nothing 
— was  waiting  for  him  to  continue.  "Said  that  I  was 
wrong,"  Alf  repeated,  "and  I  reckon  I  was,  but  I  hope 
you  won't  say  anything  about  it — at  home." 

"Why  not  at  home,  sir?  Hah,  why  not  at  home? 
'OH  zounds,  can't  a  gentleman  talk  lit  &s  own 


11*  THE  JUCKLUNS 

Alf  began  to  drop  back.  "What  he  means,  General," 
said  I,  taking  his  place,  "is  that  he  has  so  much  respect  for 
you  that  he  does  not  want  you  to  think  ill  of  him  when  you 
are  alone,  meditating  in  your  own  house." 

"Ha,  now,  a  fine  whim,  but  it's  a  respectful  whim  and 
shall  be  honored,  sir.  I  don't  understand  the  young  men 
of  this  day  and  generation,  but  I  know  what  respect  means. 
I  don't  know  that  I  condemned  you,  Alf;  I  spoke  for  the 
most  part  of  the  discretion  of  your  friend.  Well,  gentle 
men,  here  is  where  I  leave  you." 

He  threw  the  bridle  reins  over  the  horse's  neck  and  was 
preparing  to  mount,  when  Alf  started  forward  as  if  to 
help  him,  but  I  clutched  him  so  vigorously  that  he  turned 
upon  me  and  asked  what  I  meant.  "Keep  still,"  I  whis 
pered.  "I'll  tell  you  after  a  while." 

By  this  time  the  old  gentleman  was  astride  his  horse. 
He  took  off  his  hat,  bowed  with  the  air  of  a  cavalier,  and, 
bidding  us  good-night,  galloped  off  down  the  road.  Then 
I  told  Alf  why  I  had  held  him  back,  that  I  had  almost  in 
sulted  the  old  man  by  offering  to  assist  him  in  mounting 
his  horse;  and  Alf  stood  there  actually  trembling  at  the 
narrowness  of  his  escape.  I  know  that  we  should 
have  been  burned  up  had  he  been  half  so  badly  frightened 
while  we  were  in  the  school-house. 

The  nights  were  shortened  by  the  season's  approach 
to  the  first  of  May.  It  seemed  a  long  time  since  the  twi 
light  had  glimmered  on  the  leaves,  and  it  was  past  mid 
night  when  we  reached  home.  Old  Lim  had  put  up  his 


THE  JQCKLINS  115 

horse  and  was  standing  at  the  draw-bars,  waiting  for  us. 

"For  a  smart  man,"  said  he,  "I  reckon  the  General's 
got  about  as  little  sense  as  any  human  now  alive.  By 
jings,  he's  a  crank;  that's  what's  the  matter  with  him;  and 
the  first  thing  he  knows  people  will  be  keepin'  out  of  his 
way." 

A  light  flashed  from  the  passage  and  we  saw  Guinea 
and  her  mother  standing  on  the  log  step,  gazing  toward 
us. 

"It's  all  right!"  the  old  man  cried.  "Go  on  to  bed,  and 
don't  be  standing  around  this  time  of  night." 

Alf  and  I,  leaving  the  old  man  at  the  bars,  went  to  the 
house.  "Oh,  I'm  so  glad  you've  all  got  back,"  said  Mrs. 
Jitcklin,  striving  to  be  calm,  but  whimpering.  "Are  you 
sure  that  you  are  all  safe  and  sound?" 

Guinea  began  to  taugh.  "Of  course,  they  are,  mother, 
don't  you  see?" 

"But  what's  your  father  still  standin'  out  yonder  for? 
I  jest  know  he's  crippled.  Limuel,  are  you  hurt?"  she  cried. 

"Yes,  T  am  hurt,  and  by  a  man  that  prefers  to  be  a  crank. 
Said  that  he  wouldn't  care  anything  about  'em  even  if  it 
was  daylight. 

"Oh,  but  you  are  not  shot,  are  you?"  his  wife  ex 
claimed,  starting  toward  him. 

"Go  in  now,  Susan,  and  don't  come  foolin'  with  me. 
Who  said  I  was  shot?  Go  on  to  bed,  everybody,  and  PI! 
come  when  I  git  ready." 

"But  you  must  be  hungry,  Limuel ?* 


i!6  THE  JUCKLINS 

''Hungry,  the  devil — excuse  me,  ma'm.  I'll  eat  a  snack 
mebby  between  now  and  mornin'." 

"It's  no  use  to  talk  to  him,"  she  said,  with  a  sigh,  and, 
turning  to  me,  she  added:  "You  and  Alf  must  be  nearly 
starved.  We've  kept  the  coffee  warm.  Guinea,  go  and 
pour  it  out  for  'em." 

"Will  you  tell  me  all  about  the  fight?"  the  girl  asked 
when  we  entered  the  dining-room.  "I  like  to  hear  about 
such  things." 

I  strove  to  make  light  of  it,  but,  seeing  that  this  would 
not  satisfy  her,  I  told  of  the  burning  of  the  house  and  of 
the  capture  of  the  Aimes  brothers,  colored  our  danger  in 
the  house,  to  see  her  lips  whiten  and  her  eyes  stare;  pic 
tured  myself  as  I  must  have  looked  when  I  seized  the  dog, 
to  choke  him,  and  to  throw  him  far  into  the  woods — told 
her  all,  except  that  I  had  caught  the  hammers  of  Alf's  gun. 

"I  don't  see  how  you  kept  from  killing  them  when  you 
got  the  chance,"  she  said,  leaning  with  her  elbows  on  the 
table  and  her  chin  in  her  hands,  musing:  "I  don't  under- 
stand  how  you  could  keep  from  it." 

Alf  threw  down  his  knife  and  fork  and  struck  the  tabk 
with  his  fist.  "I  wanted  to  kill  Scott — had  a  bead  on  him, 
but  Bill  grabbed  my  gun.  Guinea,  I'm  glad  you  stand  by 
me,  you  and  father ;  but  the  General  thinks  I  was  wrong, 
and  I  was  just  about  to  think  that  everybody's  heart  was 
right  but  mine.  I  am  glad  you  are  with  me,  Guinea." 

I  looked  at  her  as  she  sat  there,  musing;  her  hair  was 
tangled  as  if  a  storm  of  thought  had  swept  through 


THE  JUCKLINS  117 

her  head,  and  sorely  I  wondered  whether  a  care  for  me 
had  been  borne  through  the  storm.  I  forgot  the  presence 
of  Alf ;  I  forgot  everything  except  that  I  would  have  given 
my  blood  and  my  soul  to  please  her,  and  with  bitterness 
I  said:  "Oh,  if  I  had  known  that  you  wanted  him  killed 
I  would  not  only  have  let  Alf  kill  him — I  would  have  killed 
him  myself." 

She  looked  up  from  her  attitude  of  musing  and  met  my 
outbreak  with  a  quiet  laugh.  'The  bigger  a  man  is  the 
sillier  he  is,"  she  said,  still  laughing.  "Why,  I  don't  want 
him  dead.  I  wouldn't  like  to  have  anyone  killed.  I  merely 
wondered  how,  having  come  so  close  to  being  burned  up, 
you  could  keep  from  killing  him.  I  thought  that  I  under 
stood  most  men,  but  I  don't  understand  you,  Mr.  Hawes." 

"Yes,  you  do!"  I  cried;  "you  understand  me  too  well, 
and  that  is  why  you  torture  me." 

"What!"  exclaimed  Alf,  springing  to  his  feet,  "are  you 
on  the  gridiron?  Has  she  got  you  where  somebody  has 
got  me?  By — there  comes  mother." 

I  looked  back  as  I  passed  out  of  the  room,  and  Guinea 
sat  there,  musing.  Alf  put  his  arm  about  me  as  we  went 
up  the  stairs.  We  did  not  light  the  lamp,  but  sat  down  in 
the  dark,  sat  there  and  for  a  long  time  were  silent. 

"Bill,  oh,  Bill." 

"Yes,"  I  answered. 

"Bill,  don't  ask  me  anything.  Father  may  tell  you 
something  to-morrow.  God  bless  you,  Bill.  You  havs 
stood  by  me.  Good  -night" 


THE  JUCKLINS 


CHAPTER  IX. 

It  must  have  been  daylight  before  I  worried  my  way 
into  a  sleep  that  seemed  jagged  and  sharp-cornered  with 
many  an  evil  turn ;  and  when  I  awoke  the  sun  was  shining. 
I  looked  out,  and  far  across  the  field  I  saw  Alf,  walking  be 
hind  his  plow.  The  hour  was  late  for  one  to  rise  in  the 
country,  for  the  sun  was  far  above  the  tops  of  the  trees. 
But  I  cared  not  for  any  impression  that  might  be  made 
by  my  apparent  laziness;  my  head  was  heavy  and  my 
heart  was  crushed.  No  sound  came  from  below,  and 
after  dressing — and  how  mean  my  clothes  did  look — I 
sat  down  at  my  writing  desk — sat  and  mused,  just  as  I  had 
seen  Guinea  sitting,  with  her  elbows  on  the  table  and  with 
her  chin  in  her  hands.  And  Alf  would  ask  the  old  man 
to  tell  me  something.  Tell  me  what? 

I  went  down  stairs.  Mrs.  Jucklin  was  sweeping  the 
yard.  She  put  down  her  broom  upon  seeing  me  and  came 
forward,  wiping  her  hands.  I  began  to  apologize  for  being 
so  late.  "Oh,  that  makes  no  difference,"  she  said.  "Alf 
told  us  not  to  wake  you.  I  will  go  in  and  fix  you  some 
thing  to  eat." 

"Now,  don't  put  yourself  to  any  trouble,  for,  really,  I 
couldn't  eat  a  bite;  Prn  not  very  well.  Where  is  Mr. 


THE  JUCKLINS  U» 

Jucklin?" 

"Why,  you  must  eat  something.  He's  gone  to  the 
blacksmith  shop  •  broke  the  point  off  his  plow  against  a 
rock  and  had  to  go  and  get  it  fixed.  He  ought  to  be  back 
by  now.  It  ain't  but  a  little  ways  down  the  road.  Are 
you  goin'  over  there?  Well,  if  you  see  him  tell  him  that 
Guinea  and  I  are  goin'  to  see  Mrs.  Parker  and  won't  be 
back  till  evenin'.  Tell  him  that  we'll  leave  everything  on 
the  table." 

Down  the  road  I  went,  looking  for  the  blacksmith  shop, 
and  I  had  not  gone  far  before  I  saw  the  old  man  coming, 
with  his  plow  on  his  shoulder.  He  was  talking  to  himself 
and  did  not  see  me  until  I  spoke  to  him.  "Let  me  take  that 
plow,"  I  said.  "Give  it  to  me.  I'm  stronger  than  you." 

"I  reckon  you  are  right,"  he  replied,  looking  up  at  me 
with  a  grin,  "but  I  can  tote  it  all  right  enough." 

But  I  took  the  plow  from  him,  and  walked  along  with  it 
on  my  shoulder,  waiting  for  him  to  say  something. 

"You  haven't  seen  Alf  this  mornin',  have  you?"  he 
asked. 

"No;  I  was  asleep  when  he  got  up.    Why?" 

"Well,  jest  wanted  to  know.  Alf  takes  some  strange  no 
tions  into  his  head  once  in  a  long  while,  and  he  had  one 
this  mornin'.  Told  me  to  tell  you  suthin'  that  very  few 
folks  know.  Don't  know  why,  unless  he  thinks  more  of 
you  than  he  does  of  any  other  young  man.  Never  saw 
him  take  to  a  person  as  he  has  to  you.  And  I  reckon  I 
better  tell  you.  But  I  hate  to  talk  about  it." 


&&  THE  JfUCKLIMTS 

We  walked  on  in  silence,  and  in  my  impatience- 1  shifted 
the  plow  from  one  shoulder  to  the  other.  "I'll  take  it 
when  you  git  tired  of  it,"  he  said.  "Now,  it  may  be  putty 
hard  for  you  to  understand  the  situation,  and  I'm  free  to 
say  that  I  can't  make  it  so  very  plain,  but  I'll  do  the  best  I 
can.  One  day,  a  long  time  ago,  old  General  Lundsford 
came  to  me — long  after  I  had  wallowed  him,  you  under 
stand.  And  now  as  to  that  wallowin',  why,  he  could  have 
killed  me  if  he  had  wanted  to.  He's  game.  Well,  he  came 
to  me,  and  about  as  nearly  as  I  can  ricollect  said  this :  'My 
son  Chydister,  strong-headed  little  rascal  that  he  is,  vows 
an'  declares  that  when  he  grows  up  he  is  goin'  to  marry 
your  daughter  Guinea.  I'll  be  frank  with  you  and  tell  you 
that  I  didn't  approve  of  it,  and  I  scouted  the  idea,  not  that 
your  daughter  ain't  as  good  as  any  girl,  but  because  I  don't 
mind  tellin'  you,  I've  got  a  family  name  to  keep  up.  I 
toid  him  this,  but  he  was  so  young  and  so  headstrong 
2hai  he  swore  that  it  made  no  difference  to  him.  You 
know  they  have  played  together,  up  and  down  the  branch, 
and  lie  thinks  there  aint  nobody  like  her.  Well,  sir,  he 
kept  on  talkin  about  it  until  I  knowed  that  he1  was  set, 
and  that  there  wasn't  any  use  to  try  to  turn  him,  so  I  began 
to  think  it  over  seriously.  That  boy  is  my  life's  blood,  and 
I  want  to  please  him  in  every  way  I  can,  and  I  don't  want 
him  to  marry  beneath  him.  I'm  goin'  to  make  a  doctor 
out  of  him,  the  very  best  that  can  be  'made,  and  his  com 
panion  must  be  an  educated  woman.  They  are  goin*  to 
marry  when  they  grow  up  in  spite  of  anything  we  can  do. 


THE  JUCKLLNS  121 

and  now  I've  got  a  request  to  make  of  you.  I  know  that 
you  wouldn't  let  me  give  you  a  cent  of  money,  but  as  an 
honest  man  you  can't  refuse  to  let  me  lend  you  enough 
money  to  send  your  daughter  to  school  along  with  my  own 
daughter;  and  whenever  you  think  that  you  are  able  to 
pay  me  back,  all  right,  and  if  you  never  are  able,  it  will  still 
be  all  right.' " 

The  old  man  paused,  and  now  I  walked,  along  carrying 
the  plow  in  front  of  me,  stumbling,  seeing  no  road,  caring 
not  whither  my  feet  might  wander.  "I'll  take  it  now,"  he 
said,  reaching  for  the  plow.  "You  don't  know  how  to  tote 
it,  nohow." 

I  pushed  him  back  and  said:  "Go  on  .with  your  story." 
I  was  walking  so  fast  that  he  was  almost  trotting  to 
keep  up  with  me.  "Right  there  I  was  weak,"  he  said.  "I 
thought  of  what  a  bright  creature  my' girl  was,  thought  of 
what  education  would  do  for  her,  thought  that  I  could 
soon  pay  back  the  money,  and  I  agreed.  And  I  want 
to  tell  you  that  it  has  been  hot  ashes  on  me  ever  since. 
They  are  goin'  to  marry  all  right  enough,  but  it  galls  me 
to  think  that  I  had  to  send  her  out  to  have  her  educated 
at  another  man's  expense — cuts  me  to  think  that  she  wasn't 
good  enough  for  .any  man  just  as  I  could  give  her  to  him. 
And  I'm  goin'  to  pay  back  that  'money  if  I  have  to  sell  this 
strip  of  poor  dirt,  that's  what  I'm  goin'  to  do.  Yes,  sir, 
even  if  it's  ten  years  after  they  are  married.  Chyd  is  off 
at  school  now,  and  has  been  for  a  long  time;  only  comes 
home  for  a  while  at  vacation,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  if 


122  THE  JUCKLINS 

he's  goin'  to  be  a  doctor  it's  time  he  was  at  it.  But  I  under 
stand  that  they  are  goin'  to  send  him  to  another  place 
after  he  gits  through  with  this  one.  I  don't  know  much 
about  him,  but  they  say  that  he's  a  first-rate  sort  of  a 
fellow.  Oh,  I  knowed  him  well  enough  when  he  was  little, 
but  I  haven't  seen  so  very  much  of  him  since  he  growed  up. 
Guinea  thinks  all  the  world  of  him,  of  course,  and  says 
that  they  were  born  for  each  other.  Gimme  that  plow 
here.  You  don't  know  haw  to  tote  it  nohow.  I'm  not 
goin'  right  straight  back  to  the  field;  I'm  goin'  to  the 
house.  Them  hot  ashes  is  on  me  an  inch  thick." 

I  let  him  take  the  plow;  I  left  him  at  the  draw  bars,  and 
with  heavy  and  dragging  teet  I  climbed  up  to  my  room. 
I  sat  down  to  my  desk,  but  not  with  elbows  resting  on 
the  board,  not  with  my  chin  in  my  hands;  I  couldn't  bear 
to  think  of  that  attitude.  Now,  I  understood  why  she  had 
said  "Oh"  with  such  coolness  when  I  had  declared  that 
I  hated  doctors.  My  heart  was  freezing,  my  head  was  hot, 
and  in  a  fevered  fancy  I  saw  Guinea  and  that  boy  playing 
up  and  down  the  rivulet.  I  saw  them  wading  in  the 
water;  heard  him  tell  her  that  when  they  grew  up  she 
must  be  his  wife,  and  I  saw  her,  holding  her  dress  about 
her  ankles,  look  up  at  him  and  smile.  I  knew  that  he  had 
never  been  awkward,  I  knew  that  he  looked  like  Bentley, 
knew  that  he  would  have  made  fun  of  me,  and  down  in 
my  heart  there  was  a  poisonous  hatred,  yellow,  green, 
venomous.  I  am  seeking) to  hide  nothing;  I  cannot  paint 
myself  as  a  generous  and  high-minded  man.  Whe» 


THE  JUCKLIKS  128 

stirred,  I  seem  to  have  more  rank  sap  than  other  men — 
less  reason,  more  senseless  passion.  I  roared  at  the 
picture,  sitting  there  gripping  the  desk,  and  frightened  it 
away;  and  to  myself  I  acknowledged  the  faults  which  I 
now  set  forth,  but  an  acknowledgment  of  a  fault  is  not 
within  itself  virtue.  The  fool's  recourse  is  to  call  himself 
a  fool,  to  upbraid  himself,  curse  himself  and  then  in  gra- 
ciousness  to  pardon  himself.  You  might  as  well  reason 
with  a  rattlesnake,  striking  at  you — might  as  well  seek  to 
temporize  and  argue  with  a  dog  drooling  hydrophobic 
foam,  as  to  tell  the  human  heart  what  it  ought  to  do.  Rea 
son  is  a  business  matter  and  it  can  make  matches,  but  it 
cannot  make  love. 

Long  I  sat  there,  gripping  the  desk,  gazing  at  the 
rafters  overhead,  groaning  in  the  lover's  conscious  luxury 
of  despair.  Should  I  go  away?  No;  I  would  stay  and  see 
it  out.  I  would  foe  light  and  gay — a  bear's  waltz.  I  would 
laugh  and  rebuke  fate ;  I  would  punish  Guinea  for  having 
played  with  that  boy  up  and  down  the  brook;  I  would  be 
all  sorts  of  a  fool. 

The  old  man's  voice  came  ringing  through  the  air. 
"Hike,  there,  Sam;  hike,  there,  Bob.  Get  him  down. 
Hike,  there!" 

He  was  having  a  round  with  his  chickens,  to -fan  off  the 
atmosphere  of  humiliation,  to  blow  away  the  hot  ashes 
that  were  so  thick  upon  him.  I  remembered  that  I  had 
not  delivered  Mrs.  Jucklin's  message,  and  I  hastened 
out  to  the  "stockade,"  and  knocked  at  the  gate.  "Hike, 


124  THE  JUCKLINS 

there,  boys!  Who's  that?  Whoa,  boys,  that'll  do!  Go 
in  there,  Sam!  Ho,  it's  you,  eh?"  he  said,  opening 
the  gate.  "Sorry,  but  you  didn't  git  here  quite  in 
time.  You  had  the  opportunity,  but  you  flung  it  away. 
What,  gone  over  to  Parker's?  That's  all  right.  Well, 
I  must  be  gettin'  back  to  the  field.  Looks  like  the  grass 
will  take  me  in  spite  of  everything  I  can  do.  You'll  help 
until  they  get  the  school-house  built ?  Now,  I'm  much 
obleeged  to  you,  but  we  can't  rig  up  another  outfit 
Why,  yander  you  go  already,"  he  added,  pointing  to  a 
wagon  load  of  lumber  drawn  along  the  road.  "It's 
Perdue's  wagon.  Yander  comes  another  one,  with  Ren 
Bowles,  the  carpenter,  on  board.  Oh,  they  are  goin'  to 
rush  tilings.  I've  heard  that  already  this  mornin'.  You 
never  saw  a  neighborhood  stirred  up  much  worse  than  this 
one  is  over  that  affair,  and  there  is  strong  talk  of  lynchin' 
them  fellers;  and  this  mornin'  a  party  went  over  to  see 
old  Aimes  and  told  him  that  if  he  wan't  gone  by  10  o'clock 
they  would  string  him  up,  and  I  reckon  he's  gone  by  this 
time.  They  are  makin'  great  heroes  oute'n  you  and  Alf, 
I  tell  you.  A  number  of  'em  wanted  to  see  you,  but  Alf 
wouldn't  let  'em  wake  you  up.  I  saw  Parker  while  I  was 
down  at  the  shop;  he'd  jest  got  back  from  town;  and  he 
told  me  that  the  grand  jury  that's  now  in  session  would 
indict  them  fellers  to-day,  and  as  court  is  already  set  they 
may  be  brought  to  trial  for  murderous  assavt'lt  and  arson 
right  away,  and  I  want  to  tell  you  tkat  they'll  do  w*ll  ii 
they  save  their  necks.  Parker  said  that  he  reckoned 


THE  JUCKLINS  125 

and  Alf  better  go  over  to  Purdy  to-morrow.  Well,  I  must 
git  back,  for  that  grass  is  musterin'  its  forces  every  minute 
Fm  away." 

I  worried  through  the  day,  saw  Guinea  in  a  haze,  heard 
her  voice  afar  off,  and  at  'night  I  went  to  bed  worn  out  and 
limp.  Alf  did  not  come  up  until  some  time  after  I  lay 
down.  He  came  softly  whistling  a  doleful  air  to  prove 
that  his  sympathies  were  with  me,  sat  down  upon  the 
edge  of  my  bed  and  remained  there  a  long  time  motionless 
and  silent.  I  knew  not  what  to  say  to  him  and  he  was 
evidently  puzzled  as  to  what  he  ought  to  say  to  me.  Out 
of  the  fullness  of  the  heart  the  mouth  may  speak,  but  out 
of  the  heart's  fullness  there  also  flows  a  silence. 

"Bill,"  he  said,  reaching  over  and  turning  down  the 
light  which  I  had  left  brightly  burning,  "I  killed  a  snake 
to-day  that  I  reckon  must  be  six  feet  long.  Came  crawling 
across  the  field  as  if  he  had  important  business  over 
in  the  woods,  but  he  didn't  get  there.  Ever  kill  many  big 
snakes?" 

"Not  very  many,"  I  answered,  "but  I  am  well  acquainted 
with  them  and  I  have  been  bitten  by  a  big  snake  that  lies 
coiled  about  the  universe,  striking  at  a  heart  whenever  he 
sees  it." 

He  got  up,  blew  out  the  low  blaze  of  the  lamp,  and  sat 
down  on  his  own  bed,  I  could  tell  from  the  creaking  of  the 
slats;  and  after  a  time  he  said  something  about  the  grid 
iron  on  which  a  man  was  compelled  to  wallow.  Ordinarily 
I  would  have  laughed,  hot  ashes  on  the  father  and  hot  coals 


126  THE  JUCKLINS 

under  the  son,  but  now  I  sighed  deeply. 

"Bill,  you  know,  the  other  day  I  said  that  there  was 
something  in  my  favor,  an  outgrowth  of  my  sister's  educa 
tion.  A  family  union,  don't  you  see?  But  I  had  no  idea 
when  I  said  it  that  this  very  thing  would  put  the  fire  under 
a  man  that  has  stood  by  me.  I'm  awfully  sorry  that  things 
had  to  be  shaped  that  way.  You  know  what  I  mean ;  father 
told  you  all  about  it.  Is  it  bad,  Bill?  I  won't  say  a  word 
about  it  and  the  old  folks  don't  suspect  a  thing,  but  do  you 
love  her  much?  Tell  me  just  as  if  she  wasn't  any  kin 
to  me." 

"Did  the  martyrs  who  stood  in  the  fire  love  their  God?" 
I  asked. 

He  sighed.  "She's  got  you,  Bill.  The  time  has  been  so 
short  that  I  didn't  think  it  could  be  so  bad,  but  love  doesn't 
look  at  the  clock  nor  keep  a  calendar.  Are  you  going  to 
try  to  keep  on  living,  Bill?" 

"Yes,  I'm  going  to  study  law  when  I  get  through  with 
this  school,  and  I'm  going  to  make  the  law  of  divorce  a 
specialty.  If  I  can't  do  I  may  undo;  I'm  going  to  be  a 
wolf,  and  whenever  I  see  a  man  aiming  a  gun  at  another 
man,  I'm  not  going  to  catch  the  hammers.  Why,  yester 
day  my  heart  was  tender  because  it  thought  to  please  her. 
Discretion!  I've  got  no  discretion.  I'm  a  brute.  I  mur 
dered  an  innocent  rabbit  on  my  way  to  your  home — killed 
it  just  because  I  could;  and  what  man  is  as  innocent  as  a 
rabbit?  Yes,  Alf,  I  am  going  to  live." 

"But  you  won't  hate  Guinea,  will  you?    She  couldn't 


THE  JUCKLINS  127 

help  it." 

"Oh,  I  couldn't  hate  her.  No,  I  won't  hate  her;  I'm 
going  to  stand  by,  ready  to  give  her  my  life  whenever  I 
think  she  needs  it." 

And  thus  we  talked,  senseless  creatures,  sighing  in  the 
dark.  But  so  it  is  with  human  life  everywhere — a  foolish 
chatter  and  in  the  dark  a  sighing. 

Several  days  passed  and  yet  we  were  not  summoned  to 
apppear  at  court.  I  did  not  avoid  Guinea,  neither  did 
I  seek  her.  But  often  we  were  together,  sometimes  alone, 
on  the  oak  bench  under  the  tree,  at  the  spring,  on  the  old 
and  smooth  rock  at  the  brink  of  the  ravine;  and  her  smile 
none  the  less  bright,  was  warmer  with  sympathy.  A  Sun 
day  had  gone  by  and  Alf  had  seen  Millie,  but  she  was  rid 
ing  to  church  with  Dan  Stuart. 

One  evening  Parker  sent  us  word  to  be  in  Purdy  early 
the  next  day.  And  at  dawn  the  next  morning  the  buck- 
board  stood  ready  for  the  journey.  Mrs.  Jucklin  had 
worked  nearly  the  night  through,  baking  bread  and  roast 
ing  chickens  to  tide  us  over  the  trip.  Alf  complained  at 
the  load  we  were  expected  to  carry,  and  this  grieved  her. 
"You  know  there's'  nothin'  fitten  to  eat  there,"  she  said 
"You  know  that  Lum  Smith  stayed  there  three  days  year 
before  last  and  come  home  and  was  sick  for  a  month. 
Mr.  Hawes,  I  appeal  to  you — make  him  take  it." 

And  off  we  drove  with  our  bread  and  roasted  chickens, 
The  women  stood  on  the  step  and  shouted  at  us,  and  we 
waved  our  hands  at  them  as  we  turned  a  bend  in  the  road. 


128  THE  JUCKLINS 

Ours  was  an  important  journey,  and  many  of  the  neigh 
bors  came  out  as  we  passed  along  and  cried  words  of  en 
couragement.  On  a  hill-top  we  heard  the  gallop  of  a 
horse,  and  out  of  a  lane  dashed  a  girl — Millie.  She  smiled 
at  us,  nodded  as  her  horse  jumped,  and  gave  us  a  gleam 
of  her  white  hand  as  she  sped  off  down  into  the  woods. 

"They  tell  us  that  the  Savior  rode  an  ass,"  said  Alf,  "but 
we  have  seen  heaven  gallop  by  on.  a  horse."  He  stood  up 
and  gazed  toward  the  woods.  Our  horse  gradually  came 
to  a  standstill,  but  Alf  stood  there,  gazing,  shading  his 
eyes  with  his  hand.  "It  ain't  the  sun  that  dazzles,"  he  said. 
"It's  her  smile." 

"She'll  make  a  poet  of  you,  Alf." 

"She  could  do  more  than  that;  she  could  make  a  man 
of  me." 

I  don't  know  of  a  more  dingy  and  desolate-looking 
town  than  Purdy.  The  houses  are  old,  and  the  streets 
are  rutted.  The  court-house,  in' the  center  of  the  square — 
my  temple  of  fame — is  mean  and  rain-streaked.  And  this 
is  what  I  saw  at  a  glance:  An  enormous  wooden  watch, 
with  its  paint  cracking  off,  hanging  in  front  of  a  jeweler's; 
the  mortar  and  pestle  of  a  druggist  on  top  of  a  post ;  a  brick 
jail,  with  a  pale  face,  at  the  bars;  lawyers'  signs;  doctors' 
signs;  a  livery  stable,  with  a  negro  in  front,  pouring  water 
on  the  wheels  of  a  buggy;  a  red-looking  negro,  with  a 
string  of  shuck  horse  collars;  a  dog  in  front  of  the  court 
house  sniffing  at  a  hog;  the  tavern,  with  its  bell  outside  on 
a  pole;  men  pitching  horse-shoes  in  the  shade;  a  woman, 


THE  JUCKLINS  12* 

with  her  arms  on  a  gate;  a  girl  trying  to  pull  a  dirty  child 
into  a  yard ;  a  man  in  front  of  a  store  stuffing  straw  into  a 
box;  horses  tied  to  racks  about  the  square;  men  lolling 
about  the  court-house — these  features  made  the  face  of 
Purdy. 

We  had  put  up  the  horse,  Alf  had  gone  to  see  a  friend  of 
his  and  I  was  walking  past  a  vacant  lot  when  some  one 
shouted  at  me,  and,  turning  round,  I  saw  a  man  coming 
toward  me.  "Helloa,  there,"  he  said,  coming  up,  smiling. 
"You  ought  not  to  forget  your  old  friends." 

"Oh,"  I  replied,  recalling  his  face,  "you  are  the  agent 
at  the  station  where  I  got  off  the  train." 

"Yes,  used  to  be,"  he  said,  shaking  hands  with  me,  "but 
Pm,  over  here  now,  'but  not  as  a  railroad  agent,  for  there's 
no  road  here.  I  am  the  honored  and  distinguished  tele 
graph  operator  of  this  commercial  emporium.  Couldn't 
stay  over  yonder  any  longer.  No  calico — not  a  rag  there. 
Got  to  see  the  flirt  of  calico.  See  that?'1  A  woman  was 
passing.  "You  can  stand  here  and  see  it  going  along  all 
the  time,  and  you've  got  to  be  mighty  respectful  toward 
it,  I  tell  you,  for  there's  a  shot-gun  in  every  house  and  a 
father  or  a  brother  more  than  ready  to  pull  both  triggers  at 
once.  That's  right,  I  suppose;  but  it  does  hamper  a  fel 
low  mightily.  Ever  in  St.  Louis?  That's  the  place.  Mus 
lin  and  soft  goods  everywhere  and  nine  chances  to  one 
there  ain't  a  gun  in  the  house.  Might  be,  you  know,  but 
there  is  so  much  mull  and  moriantique  and  all  that  sort  of 
thing  that  there  ain't  guns  enough  to  go  round,  so  you  can 


180  THE  JUCKLINS 

smile  and  nod  on  the  street;  but  you  can't  do  it  here.  Here 
you've  got  to  have  a  three-ply,  doubled  and  twisted  intro 
duction  before  you  can  smile  even  at  cottonade.  I've 
been  here  a  week,  and  hold  about  the  most  responsible  po 
sition  in  the  town,  and  society  hasn't  taken  me  up  yet,  but 
I  reckon  it  will  after  a  while.  I  reckon  you  could  get  in 
all  right.  They  have  heard  all  about  your  fight — know 
that  you  are  game,  and  nothing  counts  more  than  that, 
.  for  they  have  an  idea  that  a  game  fellow  is  always  a  gentle 
man." 

Just  then  a 'boy  came  up  and  told  him  that  there  was  a 
call.  "I'll  be  there  after  a  while,"  the  operator  replied. 
"Go  on  back.  I've  been  pitching  horse-shoes  with  some 
fellows,"  he  continued,  speaking  to  me,  "and  ain't  quite 
through  yet.  I'll  have  to  teach  him  so  that  he  will  be  able 
to  tell  them  that  I'm  busy  when  I'm  not  there.  I've  found 
.  out  that  what  we  want  in  this  life  is  leisure.  People  are 
getting  too  swift.  There's  no  need  of  half  the  telegraph 
ing  that's  done.  Why  don't  they  write  and  save  trouble 
and  expense?  There  goes  a  nice  piece  of  calico.  I  must 
get  acquainted  with  it,  too,  I  tell  you.  Well,  believe  I'll 
stroll  on  back.  Come  in  while  you're  here.  The  trial 
won't  take  up  much  of  your  time.  It's  all  pretty  much  cut 
und  dried,  anyway." 

At  10  o'clock  the  Aimes  brothers  were  brought  before 
the  bar.  The  jury  was  already  selected  and  the  trial  was 
at  once  taken  up.  I  was  put  upon  the  stand  and  instructed 
to  tell  my  story  without  any  fear  of  reflecting  too  much 


THE  JUCKLIJSTS  131 

credit  upon  myself.  I  could  see  that  they  wanted  a  thrilling 
recital  and  I  gave  it  to  them.  And  when  Alf  followed,  he 
found  them  eager  for  more.  The  prosecuting  attorney 
made  a  speech,  as  red  as  the  fire  that  had  burned  the 
school-house;  the  lawyer  appointed  for  the  defence  made  a 
few  cool  remarks,  and  the  case  was  closed.  We  were 
anxious  to  take  the  verdict  home  with  us,  and  we  had 
made  preparations  to  remain  over  night,  but  the  jury  came 
to  an  agreement  without  leaving  the  box,  so  we  had  noth 
ing  to  do  but  to  return  home.  The  Aimes  brothers  were 
given  a  term  of  fifteen  years  each  in  the  penitentiary. 

The  sun  was  down  when  we  got  upon  the  buck-board, 
and  over  the  road  we  drove,  under  the  stars,  our  stars,  for 
in  sympathy  they  looked  down  upon  us.  The  moon  was 
late,  but  we  preferred  the  dark — it  was  sadder. 

"I  wonder  how  ite  all  going  to  end,"  said  Alf.  "If  we 
could  only  rip  apart  that  black  thing  down  the  road  and 
look  into  the  future." 

"And  if  you  could  rip  it,"  I  replied,  "if  you  could  and 
were  about  to  do  so,  I  would  grab  your  hand  with  a  harder 
grip  than  I  gave  the  gun  when  I  caught  the  hammers." 

"Then  you  don't  want  to  know?  You'd  rather  continue 
to  writhe  on  the  gridiron  than  to  turn  over  and  fall  into 
the  fire  and  end  the  matter?" 

"Alf,"  said  I,  "does  it  strike  you  that  we  are  a  couple  of 
as  big  fools  as  ever  drove  along  a  county  road?" 

"Whoa!"  he  shouted,  pulling  upon  the  reins  and  stop 
ping  the  horse.  And  then  he  laughed.  "Fools;  why;  two 


182  THE  JUCKLINS 

idiots  are  two  Solomons  compared  with  us.  Let's  stop  it; 
let's  be  sensible;  let's  be  men." 

"I'm  with  you,  Alf.    Shake  hands." 

We  drove  along  in  silence.  After  a  long  time  he  said: 
"Here's  where  she  crossed  the  road;  and  do  you  see  that?'' 
he  asked,  pointing  to  the  Milky  Way.  "That  was  done  by 
the  waving  of  her  hand.  I  wish  to  the  Lord  I  knew  just 
how  much  she  thinks  of  Dan  Stuart." 

"Ah,  but  that  wouldn't  relieve  you,"  I  replied,  "for  I 
know  how  much  Guinea  thinks  of  Chyd  Lundsford  and 
feel  all  the  worse  for  it.  There  are  always  two  hopes,  walk 
ing  with  a  doubt,  one  on  each  side,  but  a  certainty  walks 
alone." 

"I  reckon  you  are  right,"  he  rejoined  with  a  sigh.  "How 
many  strange  things  love  will  make  a  man  say,  things 
that  an  unpoisoned  man  would  never  think  of.  Poisoned 
is  the  word,  Bill;  and  I'll  bet  that  if  I'd  bite  a  man  it  would 
kill  him  in  a  minute." 

"What  sort  of  a  fellow  is  young  Lundsford?"  I  asked, 
with  my  teeth  set  and  my  feet  braced  against  the  dash 
board. 

"Oh,  he  ain't  a  bad  fellow;  he  ain't  our  sort  exactly,  but 
he's  all  right." 

"Smart  and  full  of  poetry,  isn't  he?" 

"I  never  heard  him  say  anything  that  hac'  poetry  in  it. 
Don't  think  he  knows  half  as  much  about  books  as  you  do. 
Oh,  about  certain  sorts  of  books  he  does,  books  with  skele 
tons  in  them,  but  knowing  all  about  skeletons  don't  make 


THE  JUCKLINS  1B3 

a  man  interesting  to  a  woman.  I  have  read  enough  to  find 
that  out.  Why,  I  have  more  than  held  my  own  with  men 
that  are  well  up  in  special  books — have  held  my  own  with 
all  except  that  fellow  Stuart.  Now  there's  Etheredge,  that 
I  told  you  about  one  day — kin  to  Dan  Stuart.  He's  a  doc 
tor,  and  they  tell  me  that  he  is  well  educated,  but  I  never 
heard  him  say  a  thing  worth  remembering.  I  reckon  old 
Mrs.  Nature  has  a  good  deal  to  do  with  it  after  all." 

They  were  sitting  up  waiting  for  us  at  home,  although 
it  was  past  the  midnight  hour  when  we  drove  into  the 
yard.  Old  Lim  snorted  when  he  learned  that  the  Aimes 
boys  were  not  to  be  hanged,  but  his  wife,  merciful  creature, 
was  saddened  to  think  that  even  more  mercy  had  not  been 
shown  them.  And  then  she  anxiously  inquired  whether 
we  had  found  ourselves  short  in  the  matter  of  provisions. 
We  told  her  that  we  had  brought  back  nearly  all  the  load 
which  her  kindness  had  imposed  upon  us,  and  then  with 
disappointment  she  said:  "Goodness  alive,  why  didn't 
you  give  it  to  those  poor  fellows  to  take  to  the  peniten 
tiary  with  'em,  for  I  know  that  there's  nothin'  there  fitten 
to  eat." 

The  old  man  stood  looking  at  her,  with  his  coat  off  and 
with  his  shirt-sleeves  rolled  up.  "Susan,"  said  he,  "I  don't 
want  to  git  mad,  I  don't  want  to  go  out  yander,  snatch 
them  chickens  out  of  the  coop  an'  make  'em  nod  at  each 
other  in  the  dark,  but  when  you  talk  that  way  you  almost 
drive  me — by  jings,  you  almost  drive  me  out  there  agin 
that  tree,  hard  enough  to  butt  the  bark  off.  Do  you  reckon 


184  THE  JUCKLINS 

they  are  takin'  them  fellers  down  there  to  feed  'em,  to 
fatten  'em  up  and  then  turn  'em  loose?  Hah,  is  that  your 
idee?  'Zounds,  madam,  they  are  lucky  to  get  there  with 
their  necks.  And  here  you  are  lamentin'  that  there's  noth- 
in'  at  the  penitentiary  fitten  to  eat.  Go  on  to  bed,  Susan, 
for  if  you  don't  I'm  afeered  that  I'll  have  to  say  some- 
thin'  to  hurt  your  feelin's,  and  then  I'd  worry  about  it  all 
night." 

"Now  Limuel,  what  is  the  use  in  snortin'  round  that 
way?  Can't  a  body  say  a  word?" 

"It  do  look  like  a  body  can,"  he  rejoined;  "and  I'm 
afeered  that  a  body  will,  and  that's  the  reason  I  want  you 
to  go  to  bed." 

Old  Lim  sat  down  and  the  subject  was  dropped.  I  no 
ticed  his  wife  looking  anxiously  at  me,  and  just  as  I  was 
about  to  leave  the  room  she  said:  "Mr.  Hawes,  you'll 
please  pardon  me  for  mentionin'  it,  but  there's  a  button  off 
your  coat,  and  I'll  be  glad  to  sew  it  on  if  you  will  be  so  kind 
as  to  leave  it  down  here." 

"No,  I  will  sew  it  on,"  Guinea  spoke  up.  "Give  me  your 
coat,  Mr.  Hawes." 

"I  will  not  be  the  means  of  keeping  you  up  any  longer," 
I  replied,  looking  into  her  eyes,  and  feeling  the  thrill  of 
their  sweet  poison;  "I  will  do  it  myself." 

"And  rob  me  of  a  pleasure?"  she  asked. 

"No,  relieve  you  of  a  drudgery.    Come  on,  Alf." 

Two  fools  went  to  bed  in  the  dark  and  sighed  themselves 
to  sleep,  and  two  fools  dreamed;  I  know  that  one  did — 
dreamed  of  eyes  and  smiles  and  a  laugh  like  a  musical 
cluck. 


THE  JUCKLINS  136 


CHAPTER  X, 

More  than  a  month  passed  and  they  were  still  working 
on  the  school-house.  The  simple  plan  had  been  drawn 
with  but  a  few  strokes  of  a  pencil,  the  sills  had  been  placed 
without  delay,  but  they  had  to  plane  the  boards  by  hand 
and  that  had  taken  time.  Alf  and  1  had  again  sat  at  the 
old  General's  table,  had  listened  to  his  words  so  rounded 
out  with  kindliness,  and  upon  returning  to  the  porch  had 
heard  him  storm  at  something  that  had  gone  amiss.  Mil 
lie  showed  her  dimples  and  her  pretty  teeth,  smiling  at 
Alf  and  at  me,  too,  but  I  saw  no  evidence  that  she  loved 
him.  Indeed,  she  had  been  so  much  petted  that  I  thought 
she  must  be  a  flirt,  and  yet  she  said  nothing  to  give  me 
that  impression.  Guinea  was  just  the  same,  good- 
humored,  rarely  serious.  One  Sunday  I  went  to  church 
with  her,  walked,  though  the  distance  was  two  miles;  stood 
near  the  cave  wherein  the  British  soldiers  had  hidden  them 
selves,  and  talked  of  everything  save  love.  I  cannot  say 
that  I  had  a  sacred  respect  for  her  feelings;  I  think  that 
I  should  have  liked  to  torture  her,  but  something  closed 
my  heart  against  an  utterance  of  its  heavy  fullness. 

One  Saturday  afternoon  I  was  told  that  the  school- 
house  would  be  ready  on  the  following  Monday.  I  had 


186  THEJUCKLIJSS 

been  out  many  times  to  view  the  work  ,but  I  decided  to  go 
again  to  see  that  everything  was  complete.  I  expected 
that  Alf  would  go  with  me,  for  the  corn  was  laid  by,  but 
I  could  not  find  him.  His  mother  told  me  that  he  had 
put  on  his  Sunday  clothes  and  that  she  had  seen  him 
going  down  the  road.  And  so  I  went  alone.  The  house 
was  done,  and  what  a  change  from  the  pile  of  old  logs! 
The  walls  were  painted  white  and  the  blinds  were  green. 
The  bushes  were  cleared  off,  and  the  scorched  trees  had , 
been  cut  down,  split  up  and  hauled  away.  I  have  never 
seen  a  neater  picture,  and  in  it  I  saw  not  only  the  progress 
of  the  people,  but  the  respect  in  which  they  held  me. 

I  had  come  out  of  the  woods  on  my  way  home  and 
was  on  a  high  piece  of  grazing  land  not  far  from  the  house 
when  I  saw  a  man  ride  up  to  the  yard  fence,  dismount,  tie 
his  horse  and  go  into  the  house.  This  within  itself  was 
nothing,  for  I  had  seen  many  of  the  neighbors  come  and 
go,  but  a  sudden  chill  seized  upon  me  now,  and  there  I 
shook,  though  the  heat  of  June  lay  upon  the  land;  and  it 
was  some  time  before  I  could  go  forward,  stumbling,  quak 
ing,  with  my  eyes  fixed  upon  the  horse  tied  at  the  fence. 
In  the  yard  behind  the  house  I  came  upon  Mrs.  Jucklin, 
gathering  up  white  garments  that  had  been  spread  to  dry 
upon  the  althea  bushes.  "Chyd  Lundsford  has  come," 
she  $aid,  and  I  replied:  "Yes,  I  know  it." 

T  stepped  upon  the  passage  and  passed  the  sitting-room 
door  without  looking  in ;  I  sat  down  in  a  rocking  chair  that 
had  been  placed  near  the  stair-way,  sat  there  and  listened 


THE  JUCKL1NS  137 

to  a  girl's  laugh  and  the  low  mumble  of  a  man's  voice. 
"Let  us  go  out  where  it's  cooler,"  I  heard  Guinea  say,  and 
I  got  up  with  my  ;head  in  a  whirl,, 

"Mr.  Hawes,  this  is  Mr.  Lundsford." 

"Glad  to  meet  you,  sir,"  I  said,  taking  hold  of  something 
— his  hand,  I  suppose.  I  was  urged  to  sit  down  again; 
Guinea  said  that  she  would  bring  two  more  chairs,  and 
when  I  had  dropped  back  between  the  arms  of  the  rocker 
I  looked  at  the  man  standing  there,  and  a  sort  of  glad  dis 
appointment  cleared  my  vision  -and  placed  him  before  me 
in  a  strong  light.  He  was  short,  almost  fat,  and  in  his 
thin,  whitish  hair  there  was  a  hint  at  coming  baldness. 
The  close  attention  that  he  had  been  compelled  to  give 
practical  things,  the  sawing  of  bones,  the  tracing  of  nerves, 
the  undoing  of  man's  machinery,  had  given  him  the  cyn 
ical  look  of  a  hard  materialist.  But  when  he  stepped  back 
to  take  the  chair  which  Guinea  had  brought  I  saw  that 
he  moved  easily,  that  he  was  cool  and  knew  well  how  to 
handle  himself.  And  this  drove  away  the  meager  joy  of 
my  glad  disappointment. 

"I  hear  you  are  going  to  take  up  school  Monday,"  he 
said.  "Rather  late  to  begin  school  just  now,  I  should 
think." 

"Under  ordinary  circumstances  it  would  be  regarded  as 
late  in  the  season,"  I  answered,  "but  we  have  been  so  inter 
rupted  that  we  now  decide  to  have  no  vacation." 

''I  guess  you  are  right.  Had  a  pretty  close  shave  with 
those  fellows,  didn't  you?  Ought  to  have  killed  them 


188  THE  JUCKLINS 

right  there.  I've  seen  Scott.  Thought  he  was  a  pretty 
bright  fellow,  naturally;  rather  witty.  Would  make  a 
first-rate  subject  on  the  slab." 

"Because  you  thought  him  witty,  sir?"  I  asked. 

"Of  course  not;  but  because  he  is  a  good  specimen — big 
fellow."  He  looked  at  me  and  I  thought  that  he  was 
measuring  my  chest  "Yes,"  he  continued,  "ought  to  have 
killed  them.  Man's  got  to  take  care  of  himself,  you  know, 
and  he  can't  make  it  his  business  to  show  mercy.  Most 
all  the  virtues  now  are  back-woods  qualities." 

"I  don't  believe  that,"  Guinea  spoke  up.  "Every  day 
we  read  of  the  generosity  of  the  world." 

"Oh,"  he  said,  passing  his  short  fingers  through  his 
thin  hair,  "you  read  about  it,  and  people  who  want  to 
shine  as  generous  creatures  take  particular  pains  that  you 
shall  read  about  it.  You've  a  great  deal  to  learn,  my  dear 
little  woman." 

"And  perhaps  there  is  a  great  deal  that  she  doesn't  care 
to  learn,"  T  ventured  to  suggest;  and  I  quickly  looked  at 
her  to  see  whether  I  had  made  another  mistake.  I  had 
not,  her  quiet  smile  told  me,  and  I  felt  bold  enough  to  have 
thrown  him  over  the  fence. 

"What  we  wish  to  know  and  what  we  ought  to  know 
are  two  different  matters,"  he  said.  "But  I  hold  that  we 
ought  to  know  the  truth,  no  difference  what  the  truth 
may  be.  I  want  facts;  I  don't  want  paint.  I  don't  want 
to  believe  that  the  gilt  on  the  dome  goes  all  the  way 
through." 


THE  JUCKLINS  18» 

"But,"  said  I,  "the  gilt  on  the  dome  doesn't  prove  that 
the  dome  is  rotten ;  it  may  be  strong  with  seasoned  wood 
and  ribs  of  iron." 

"Yes,"  he  drawled,  "that's  all  very  good,  very  well  put, 
but  it  means  nothing.  By  the  way,  before  we  get  into  a 
discussion  let  me  invite  you  over  to  our  house  to-night. 
Quite  a  number  of  young  people  will  drop  in.  Not  ex 
actly  the  night,  you  know7;  but  the  old  idea  that  white 
people  shouldn't  go  out  of  a  Saturday  night,  the  night 
reserved  for  negroes,  is  all  nonsense.  So,  I  have  asked 
them  to  come.  Alf  will  come,  I  suppose,  and  so  will  our 
little  spring  branch  nymph." 

"I  didn't  suppose  that  you  believed  in  nymphs,  now 
that  you  have  gone  out  and  learned  that  everything  is 
false,"  Guinea  spoke  up. 

"I  don't  believe  in  painted  ones,"  he  replied,  "but  you 
are  not  painted." 

"I  shall  be  pleased  to  come,"  I  remarked,  and  then  I 
asked  him  how  long  he  expected  to  remain  at  home. 

"Oh,  about  a  month,  I  should  think.  I  am  gradually 
getting  along  and  I  don't  want  to  go  to  school  all  my  life. 
I  want  to  begin  practice  next  year." 

"In  this  neighborhood?"  I  asked,  and  he  gave  me  a 
contemptuous  look.  "Well,  not  if  I  have  any  sense  left," 
he  answered.  "I  might  ride  around  here  a  thousand  years 
and  not  win  anything  of  a  name.  Look  at  Dr.  Etheredge, 
fine  physician,  but  what  has  he  done?  No,  I'm  going  to  a 
city,  north,  I  think." 


140  THE  JUCKLINS 

He  stayed  to  supper  and  this  angered  me,  for  I  had  se'i 
my  heart  on  walking  to  the  General's  house  with  Guinea. 
AH  had  not  returned  and  we  wondered  whither  he  could 
have  gone.  And  when  the  time  came  to  go,  that  impudent 
sprig  of  a  doctor  asked  me  if  I  would  ride  his  horse  around 
by  the  road,  said  that  he  wanted  to  walk  across  the  mead 
ows  with  Guinea.  How  I  should  have  enjoyed  knocking 
him  on  the  head,  but  I  thought  that  Guinea  supplemented 
his  request  with  a  look,  and  I  consented. 

There  were  many  horses  tied  at  the  General's  fence, 
and  there  was  laughter  within,  when  I  rode  up,  and  I  was 
reminded  of  the  night  when  I  had  stood  with  my  hot  hand 
melting' the  frost  on  the  fence.    But  I  thought  of  what  the 
men  had  said  on  the  railway  platform,  of  the  woman  whom 
I  had  seen  on  the  train,  and  boldly  I  walked  in.    The  Gen 
eral  met  me  with  a  warm  grasp,  and  was  asking  me  if  I 
had  seen  his  son,  when  in  walked  the  young  fellow  himself, 
with  Guinea  beside  him.    The  parlor  and  the  library,  open 
ing  one  into  the  other,  were  well  filled  with  good-humored 
young  folk,  and  among  them  were  old  people,  none  the 
less  good-humored.     I  was  surprised  to  find  myself  so 
much  in  demand,  for  every  one  asked  for  an  introduction, 
but  with  bitterness  I  knew  that  it  was  because  I  had 
come  near  being  burned  up  in  an  old  house.    They  played 
games,  but  of  this  they  soon  tired;  they  sang  and  one 
of  the  ladies  plucked  a  sparkling  fandango,  and  then 
Chydister  Lundsford  was    called    upon    for    a    speech. 
He   was   not   at  all   embarrassed   and   he   talked   fairly 


THE  JUCKLINS  141 

well;  and  when  he  was  done  they  called  upon  me.  I  got 
up  with  one  hand  resting  on  the  piano,  and  stood  there, 
nervous  at  first,  but  strangely  steady  later  on.  I  told  them 
that  I  could  not  make  a  speech,  but  that  with  their  per 
mission  I  would  tell  them  a  story,  one  of  my  own.  They 
cried  out  that  they  would  rather  have  a  story  than  a  speech, 
and  I  gave  them  a  half  humorous,  half  pathetic  sketch, 
something  that  had  long  been  running  in  my  head  and 
which  I  intended  to  write.  What  a  strong  confidence  came 
upon  me  as  I  noted  the  effect  of  my  words !  I  was  drawing 
a  picture  and  they  were  eager  to  see  it;  I  was  playing  on 
a  strange,  rude  instrument,  and  how  they  bent  to  catch 
every  vibration.  I  was  astonished  at  myself,  thrilled  with 
myself.  And  when  the  climax  came,  chairs  were  tipped 
over  as  if  in  a  scramble,  and  a  wild  applause  broke  out. 
Every  hand  was  stretched  out  toward  me,  every  eye  was 
bright  with  a  tear.  The  old  General  grabbed  me  and, 
throwing  back  his  great  head,  almost  bellowed  a  compli 
ment;  and  through  it  all  I  saw  Guinea  sweetly  smiling. 
They  urged  me  to  give  them  another  story,  were  almost 
frantic  in  their  entreaty;  they  had  heard  the  heart-beat  of 
their  own  life  and  they  must  hear  it  again.  I  told  another 
story,  one  over  which  I  had  fondly  mused,  and  again  the 
hands  came  out  toward  me,  and  again  the  General  bel 
lowed  a  compliment.  I  can  scarcely  recall  anything  else 
that  passed  that  evening.  Yes,  I  remember  that  as  I  was 
taking  my  leave,  to  walk  across  the  meadows  with  Guinea 
and  Chyd,  Millie  stood  in  front  of  me.  Once  or  twice  I 


142  THE  JUCKLINS 

thought  that  she  had  something  that  she  would  tell  me, 
for  her  lips  moved,  but  she  said  nothing  except  to  bid  me 
good-night. 

And  where  was  Alf  all  this  time?  No  one  had  spoken 
his  name;  Millie  had  not  asked  me  about  him.  I  walked 
briskly  in  advance,  half  happy,  but,  of  course,  with  my 
mind  on  Guinea,  whose  low  voice  reached  my  ears  through 
the  quiet  that  lay,  on  the  grass-land. 

"Why  don't  you  wait  for  us?"  she  cried.  I  turned  about 
and  waited,  and  as  she  came  up,  holding  Chyd's  arm,  she 
said:  "I  hope  your  success  to-night  hasn't  turned  your 
head." 

"And  I  hope  that  I  don't  deserve  such  a  suspicion,"  I 
answered,  not  with  bitterness,  but  with  joy  to  think  that 
she  had  felt  my  apparent  indifference. 

"Oh,  I  don't  see  anything  to  cause  a  spat,"  said  Chyd, 
straining  himself  to  take  long  steps.  "Good  stuff,  of 
course,  but  nothing  to  turn  a  man's  head — a  mere  bit  of 
fancy  paint.  But  you  ought  to  write  it.  Good  many  peo 
ple  like  nonsense.  I  mean  something  light,  you  know. 
Two-thirds  of  the  human  family  make  it  their  business  to 
dodge  the  truth.  But  it  is  a  good  thing  for  a  school 
teacher  to' make  himself  felt  in  that  way." 

"Perhaps  Mr.  Hawes  doesn't  intend  to  be  a  teacher  all 
his  life,"  Guinea  replied,  speaking  in  kindliness,  but  with 
no  interest,  as  to  whether  or  not  I  was  to  remain  a  peda 
gogue. 

"God  forbid,"  I  replied.    And  the  young  doctor  gave  me 


THE  JUCKLINS  143 

a  sarcastic  cough.  "Man  ought  to  do  what  he's  best  fitted 
for,"  said  he.  "Trouble  is  that  a  man  generally  thinks  that 
he's  fitted  for  something  that  he  isn't — hates  the  thing 
that  he  can  do  best." 

"Your  knowledge  of  the  practical  fortifies  you  against 
any  advance  that  I  might  make,"  I  replied.  "I  don't  pre 
tend  to  be  practical." 

"Hum,  I  should  think  not,"  he  rejoined.  "Good  deal 
of  a  dreamer,  I  take  it.  And  you  are  in  the  right  place. 
Everything  dreams  here,  the  farmers  and  even  the  cattle. 
Going  to  pull  down  the  fence,  eh  ?  Guinea'll  be  over  by  the 
time  you  get  it  down.  What  did  I  tell  you?  Regular 
fawn,  eh?" 

We  had  passed  out  of  the}  meadow.  They  waited  in  the 
road  until  I  replaced  the  rails  which  I  had  let  down. 
The  roaa  ran  along  the  ravine  and  home  was  in  sight. 
I  looked  across  toward  the  smooth  old  rock  and  saw  a 
dark  object  upon  it.  We  went  down  into  the  ravine  and 
as  we  were  coming  out,  a  voice  cried:  "Is  that  you,  Bill?" 
And  instantly  Guinea  answered  for  me.  "Yes,  Alf.  And 
here's  Chyd." 

"How  are  you,  Chyd?"  he  shouted,  and  then  he  added'. 
"Bill,  I  want  to  see  you  a  minute.  Stay  where  you  are 
and  I'll  come  down." 

I  halted  to  wait  for  him.  He  stopped  a  moment  to 
shake  hands  with  Chyd,  and  then  he  hastened  to  me. 
"Old  man,  I've  got  something  to  tell  you,"  he  said.  "Let's 
walk  down  this  way — no,  not  oven,  in  the  road,  but  up  the 


141  THE  JUCKLINS 

hollow."  He  gripped  my  arm  tightly,  walked  fast,  then 
slowly  and  then  stopped.  "Let's  sit  down  here,  Bill."  We 
seated  ourselves  on  a  rock.  "You  have  been  over  to  the 
General's,  along  with  Chyd  and  Guinea,  haven't  you?  Of 
course,  you  have — what's  the  use  of  asking  that?  Do  you 
know  what  I  did  to-day?  Not  long  after  dinner  I  went 
over  there  determined  to  find  out  how  I  stood.  I  was 
brave  until  I  got  nearly  to  the  house  and  then  my  courage 
failed.  I  stood  by  the  fence  in  the  blackberry  briars  and 
gazed  at  the  house.  After  a  while  I  saw  her  come  out  and 
start  down  the  Ebeneezer  road.  And  then  I  whipped  round 
and  met  her.  And  as  I  stood  beside  the  road,  waiting  for 
her  to  come  up  I  noticed  for  the  first  time. that  the  sun  was 
nearly  down.  For  hours  I  had  been  standing  in  the  briars. 
I  pretended  not  to  see  her;  let  on  like  I  was  hunting  for  a 
squirrel  up  in  a  tree,  until  she  came  up.  Then  I  spoke  to 
her  and  she  started  as  if  she  was  scared.  She  said  that  she 
was  going  over  to  Lum  Smith's  to  tell  the  young  people 
to  come  over  at  night,  and  I  asked  her  if  I  might  walk 
along  with  her.  She  said  with  a  laugh  that  I  might  go 
part  of  the  way,  and  then  I  knew  that  she  was  ashamed 
for  any  one  to  'see  her  with  me.  This  cut  me  to  the  red, 
but  I  walked  along  with  her.  I  felt  that  I  had  nothing  to 
say  that  would  interest  her,  but  I  kept  on  talking,  and  once 
in  a  while  she  would  look  up  at  me  and  laugh.  At  last,  and 
it  was  just  as  we  came  within  sight  of  Smith's  place,  I  asked 
her  what  she  really  thought  of  Dan  Stuart.  I  knew  that 
this  was  a  fool's  break,  and  if  it  hadn't  been  I  don't  suppose 


THE  JUCKLLNS  146 

I  would  have  made  it.  She  looked  up  at  me,  but  she  didn't 
laugh  this  time.  I  begged  her  pardon  for  my  rudeness, 
and  she  reminded  me  that  I  was  only  to  come  a  part  of 
the  way  with  her.  I  then  told  her  that  I  would  wait  for 
her  to  come  back.  She  said  that  she  might  not  come  back 
that  way.  I  replied  that  no  matter  which  way  she  came 
back  I  would  see  her.  She  went  on,  laughing  now,  and  I 
waited,  but  I  didn't  have  to  wait  long  before  I  saw  her 
coming.  As  she  came  up  I  asked  her  if  she  was  ready  to 
grant  my  pardon  and  she  wanted  to  know  what  about. 
We  walked  along  together  and  she  began  to  tell  me  about 
her  brother,  how  smart  he  was  and  all  that,  and  I  said 
that  I  didn't  think  that  lie  was  as  smart  as  you,  Bill;  I 
wanted  to  take  credit  for  a  friendship  I  had  formed,  you 
see?  But  a  moment  later  I  was  sorry,  for  Lwas  afraid  that 
she  might  say  something  against  you,  but  she  didn't.  She 
said  that  you  were  a  smart  man — a  distinguished-looking 
man,  and  that  she  liked  you  ever  so  much.  At  first  I  was 
pleased,  but  a  second  afterward  I  was  jealous  of  you,  Bill. 
Did  you  ever  see  as  blamed  a  fool  as  I  am?  But  I  didn't 
hate  you,  Bill.  No,  my  heart  was  warm  toward  you  even 
while  she  was  praising  you — even  while  I  was  jealous.  I 
again  asked  her  what  she  thought  of  Dan  Stuart,  and  she 
looked  up  at  me  and  wanted  to  know  if  I  knew  what  he 
thought  of  her.  I  told  her  that  everybody  loved  her,  and 
that  I  didn't  suppose  he  was  mean  enough  not  to  love  her. 
She  said  that  she  knew  people  who  didn't  love  her,  and  I 
told  her  that  if  she  would  show  them  to  me  I  would  butt 


146  THE  JUCKLINS 

their  heads  together  for  being  such  idiots.  We  were  now 
almost  within  sight  of  the  General's  home  and  I  was  not 
getting  along  very  fast.  I  was  determined  to  make  a 
break.  We  were  on  a  hill,  where  the  trees  were  tall,  almost 
over-lapping  the  road.  To  the  right  ran  a  path  through 
the  briars,  a  nearer  way  home.  I  asked  her  to  wait  and 
she  stopped.  The  sun  was  down  and  it  was  now  almost 
dark.  And  it  was  then  that  I  told  her  that  I  loved  her. 
I  don't  know  how  I  acted  or  what  I  said,  but  I  know  that 
I  was  down  in  the  dust  at  her  feet  She  stood  there,  pale 
and  trembling,  looking  around  as  if  she  would  call  for 
help.  I  asked  her  to  marry  me,  and  she  laughed,  Bill — 
laughed  at  me  and  darted  down  the  path.  Then  I  went 
into  the  woods  and  roamed  about  I  don't  know  where;  and 
that  is  the  reason  I  wasn't  at  the  gathering  to-night.  I'm 
bruised  and  crippled,  Bill — my  heart  is  sore,  but  I  want 
to  tell  you  that  when  she's  standing  on  the  floor  with  that 
fellow  Stuart,  with  the  preacher  in  front  of  her,  I'll  be  there, 
putting  in  my  plea.  I  won't  give  up  as  long  as  there  is  a 
fighting  chance  left.  Don't  say  a  word  about  it.  Forgive 
me  for  dragging  you  off  down  here.  God  knows  you've 
got  a  deep  trouble  of  your  own.  And  I  wish  my  word 
could  settle  it — I'd  speak  it,  though  it  might  hurt  my 
chances  at  the  General's.  Well,  let's  go  to  the  house." 


THE  JUCKLISTS 


CHAPTER  XL 

Guinea  and  Chyd,  old  Lim  and  his  wife  went  to  church 
the  next  day,  leaving  Alf  and  me  alone.  Alf  held 
himself  in  reasonable  restraint  until  the  old  people  wer^ 
gone,  and  then  he  broke  out  so  violently  that  I  re' 
feared  for  his  reason.  And  it  was  mainly  my  fault  ji  ! 
read  him  a  passionate  poem,  the  outcry  of  a  ir  .videned 
soul,  and  he  swore  that  it  had  been  written  for "  Jm,  that  it 
was  his,  and  I  caught  his  spirit  and  fancier*  that  he  might 
have  written  it,  for  I  believed  then,  as  I  believe  now,  that 
great  things  do  not  come  from  a  q'Jet  heart,  that  quiet 
hearts  may  criticise,  but  that  tbiy  do  not  create,  that 
genius  is  a  condition,  an  agonv  a  tortured  John  Bunyan. 

I  went  to  the  spring  to  gel  a  bucket  of  fresh  water>  and 
when  I  returned  Alf  was  nowhere  to  be  found.  I  went  out 
and  shouted  his  name,  but  no  answer  came  b^ck.  I  went 
out  into  the  wood?,  walked  up  and  down  the  road,  but 
could  see  nothing  of  him.  The  shadows  fell  short  and  the 
old  people  and  Guinea  and  Chyd  returned  from  church, 
and  the  noon-tide  meal  was  spread,  but  Alf  came  not.  But 
save  with  ~.e  there  was  no  anxiety,  as  he  was  wont  to  poke 
about  aloii  \  they  said.  Evening,  bed-time  came.  Chyd 
went  home,  an  '  I  went  -;p  to  my  room.  I  heard  the  old 


r&  THE  JUCKLINS 

man  locking  the  smoke-house  door — heard  his  wife  sing- 
ing  a  hymn,  heard  Guinea's  faint  foot-steps  as  she  re 
turned  from  the  gate,  whither  she  went  to  bid  her  lover 
good-night,  and  her  little  feet  fell  not  upon  the  path,  but 
upon  my  heart.  I  went  to  bed,  leaving  the  lamp  burning 
low,  and  was  almost  asleep  when  I  heard  Alf  on  the  stairs. 
He  ran  into  the  room  with  both  hands  pressed  against  his 
head.  I  sprang  up.  He  ran  to  me  and  dropped  upon 
his  knees  at  the  bed-side,  dropped  and  clutched  the  cover 
ing  and  buried  his  face  in  it.  I  put  my  arm  about  him,  knelt 
beside  him,  heard  his  smothered  muttering,  and  put  my 
face  against  his.  "Bill !"  he  gasped  in  a  shivering  whisper, 
"Bill,  I  have  killed  him!" 

"Merciful  God!"  I  cried,  springing  back.  He  reached 
round,  as  if  to  draw  me  down  beside  him.  "Hush,  don't 
let  them  hear  down  stairs.  Come  here,  Bill." 

I  lifted  him  to  his  feet,  turned  him  round  so  that  I  could 
see  his  face.  It  was  horror-stricken.  "I  have  killed  Dan 
Stuart." 

He  stood  with  both  hands  on  my  shoulders  looking  into 
my  eyes. 

"Wait  a  minute  and  I'll  tell  you.  It  wasn't  altogether 
my  fault.  He  ought  to  be  dead.  He  tried  to  kill  me.  I 
left  here  without  any  thought  of  seeing  him;  didn't  want 
to  see  him.  I  went  away  over  yonder  into  the  woods.  I 
heard  you  calling  me.  Later  in  the  day  I  came  out  near 
the  wagon-maker's  shop,  and  several  fellows  were  sitting 
there,  and  I  stopped  to  answer  a  question  somebody  asked 


THE  JUCKLINS  149 

me,  and  pretty  soon  here  came  Stuart.  He  grinned  at  me, 
but  this  didn't  make  me  want  to  kill  him.  Do  they  hear 
me  down  stairs?" 

"Go  on,  for  God's  sake!"  I  urged.  "Why  did  you  kill 
him"  Didn't  you  know 

"I  knew  everything,  Bill.  But  I  didn't  want  to  kill  him. 
I  turned  away,  and  walked  up  the  road,  and  he  came  along 
after  me  on  his  horse.  And  when  we  were  some  distance 
away  he  made  a  slighting  remark  about  Millie.  I  wheeled 
around  and  he  snatched  out  a  pistol  and  pointed  it  at  me. 
I  hadn't  a  thing,  and  there  he  was  on  a  horse  and  with  a 
pistol  pointed  at  me.  There  was  not  a  stone,  nothing 
within  reach.  I  was  cool,  I  had  sense,  and  I  told  him  that 
he  might  have  his  fun,  but  that  I  would  see  him  again. 
And  when  he  had  cursed  me  and  abused  me  as  much  as  he 
liked  he  rode  away,  leaving  me  standing  there.  I  ran 
over  to  Parker's  and  told  him  that  I  wanted  a  pistol  to 
shoot  a  dog  with,  and  he  gave  it  to  me.  Then  I  went 
back  to  the  road  and  waited.  He  had  gone  over  to  the 
General's,  I  thought,  and  I  knew  that  he  would  come 
back  that  way.  I  would  make  him  swallow  his  words — 
I  knew  that  he  didn't  mean  what  he  said  about  Millie — 
knew  that  he  simply  wanted  to  stir  me  up  and  have  an 
excuse  to  kill  me.  So  I  waited  in  the  road  not  far  from 
Doc  Etheredge's,  waited  a  long  time  and  at  last  I  heard 
some  one  coming  on  a  horse.  I  didn't  hide;  I  stood  in  the 
middJe  of  the  road.  A  man  came  up,  but  it  wasn't  him; 
it  was  Etheredge.  He  spoke  to  me,  asked  me  good-na- 


150  THE  JUCKLINS 

turedly  why  I  was  standing  there,  and  I  tola  nim  that  I 
was  waiting  for  a  dog  that  I  wanted  to  kill.  He  turned  into 
his  gate,  a  short  distance  off,  and  I  stood  there.  After  a 
while  I  heard  another  horse,  and  I  knew  his  gait — single- 
foot.  It  was  Stuart.  He  was  singing  and  he  didn't  appear 
to  see  me  until  he  was  almost  on  me.  His  horse  shied. 
'Who  is  that?'  he  asked,  and  I  told  him.  'And  you  are 
going  to  take  back  what  you  said,'  I  remarked  as  quietly 
as  I  could,  'or  I'm  going  to  kill  you  right  here.'  He  didn't 
say  a  word — he  snatched  at  his  pistol  and  then  I  fired,  and 
he  fell  forward  on  his  horse's  neck.  The  horse  jumped  and 
I  sprang  forward  and  caught  the  body  and  eased  it  to  the 
ground — stretched  it  in  the  road  and  left  it.  But  I  went  up 
to  Etheredge's  house  and  hallooed,  and  when  he  answered 
I  told  him  that  the  dog  had  come  and  that  his  name  was 
Dan  Stuart,  and  that  he  would  find  him  lying  in  the  road. 
I  heard  him  shout  something,  but  I  didn't  wait  for  him  to 
come  out,  but  went  into  the  woods  and  came  on  home. 
And  now  I've  got  to  go." 

"Go  where?"  I  asked,  facing  him  round  as  he  strove  to 
turn  from  me. 

'To  town  to  give  myself  up.  Don't  tell  the  old  folks 
to-night.  Tell  them  in  the  morning — tell  them  that  they'll 
find  me  in  jail." 

I  strove  to  restrain  him;  I  could  scarcely  believe  what 
he  had  told  me.  I  asked  him  if  he  had  not  been  dreaming. 
He  shook  his  head,  pulling  away  from  me.  "If  you  are 
my  friend,  Bill,  do  as  I  tell  you.  It's  all  over  with  me  now, 


THE  JUCKL1NS  151 

and  all  I  can  do  is  to  answer  to  the  law."  He  caught  up  his 
hat.  "Tell  them  at  morning;  make  it  as  soft  as  you  can — 
tell  them  how  I  love  that  girl — tell  them  that  I  am  crazy. 
Don't  hold  me,  Bill.  I  must  go.  God  bless  you." 

He  pulled  away  from  me  and  went  down  stairs  so  easily 
that  he  made  scarcely  a  sound.  I  followed  him,  begged 
him  to  let  me  go  with  him,  but,  creeping  back  half  way 
up  the  stairs,  he  said:  "You  can  be  of  more  service  to  me 
here.  Tell  them  and  to-morrow  you  can  see  me  in  jail.  I 
don't  want  them  to  come  and  take  me  there.  Do  as  I  tell 
you,  Bill.  Don't  let  the  folks  Gee  me  in  jail.  Go  on  back." 

I  went  back  to  the  room  and  sat  there  all  night,  and  at 
morning  I  heard  the  old  man  unlock  the  smoke-house, 
heard  his  wife  singing  a  hymn.  I  knew  that  they  expected 
me  at  early  breakfast,  so  that  I  could  reach  the  school- 
house  in  time,  for  my  new  session  was  to  begin  that  morn 
ing.  So  the  sun  was  not  risen  when  I  went  down  stairs. 
But  nature  held  up  a  pink  rose  in  the  east,  and  the  hill 
tops  were  glowing,  while  the  valleys  were  yet  dark.  Guinea 
came  out  of  the  sitting-room,  and  seeing  me  in  the  pas 
sage,  walking  as  if  I  were  afraid  of  disturbing  some 
one,  laughed  at  me.  "Why,  what  makes  you  slip  along 
that  way?  You  act  as  if  you  were  the  first  one  up.  Why, 
I  have  already  gathered  you  some  flowers  to  take  to 
school.  And  you  won't  even  thank  me.  Why,  Mr.  Hawes, 
what  on  earth  is  the  matter?" 

I  held  up  my  hand.  'There  will  be  no  school  to-day," 
I  said.  "Don't  say  a  word,  please." 


152  THE  JUCKLlNS 

"But  what's  the  matter?"  she  asked,  with  a  look  of 
fright. 

"Come  out  here  under  the  tree.  Will  you  promise  not 
to  scream  if  I  tell  you  something?" 

"But  what  can  you  tell  me  to  make  me  scream?  Oh " 

"I'm  not  going  to  speak  of  myself,"  I  broke  in,  fearing 
that  she  might  think  that  I  was  going  to  tell  her  of  my  love. 
"Come  out  here,  please." 

She  followed  me  to  the  bench  under  the  tree  and  she 
stood  there  nervously  gazing  at  me  as  I  sat  down,  waiting 
for  me  to  speak  and  yet  afraid  to  hear  me. 

"What  is  it,  please?  But  don't  tell  me  anything  bad— 
I  don't  want  to  hear  anything  bad." 

"But  you  must  hear  this.  Alf — Alf  has  had  a  quarrel 
with  Dan  Stuart.  It  was  worse  than  a  quarrel,  and 
has " 

"Killed  him?"  she  said,  gazing  at  me.  "Don't  tell  me 
anything." 

She  sat  down  beside  me  and  hid  her  face.  "Alf  has  gone 
to  town  to  give  himself  up,  and  we  must  tell  your  father 
and  mother.  Tt  wasn't  murder — it  was  self-defence.  You 
go  and  tell  your  mother,  tell  her  as  quietly  as  you  can.  I 
see  your  father  out  yonder.  I  will  tell  him.  Tell  her  that 
they  got  into  a  quarrel  last  night'1 

She  went  away  without  looking  back  at  me,  without 
letting  me  see  her  face,  and  as  I  passed  the  corner  of  the 
house  I  heard  her  talking  and  before  I  reached  the  old 
man  I  heard  a  cry  from  that  poor  old  woman. 


THE  JUCKLLNS  158 

Old  Lim  was  at  the  door  of  his  "stockade,"  oiling  the 
lock.  "Devilish  thing  don't  work  well,"  he  said.  "A  pad 
lock  is  generally  the  best  lock  or  the  worst;  you  never  can 
tell  which.  If  I  could  jest  git  a  drap  of  the  grease  into 
the  key-hole  I'd  soon  fix  it.  But  it  won't  go  in,  you  see. 
By  jings,  the  devil  has  his  own  way  about  half  the  time, 
and  his  influence  is  mighty  powerful  the  other  half.  Now. 
we're  gittin'  at  it.  I  reckon  we'd  better  go  on  to  breakfast, 
though.  I  almost  forgot  that  you  had  to  go  to  your 
school.  Why,  man,  what  the  deuce  is  the  matter  with  you 
this  mornin'?" 

He  dropped  the  chain  to  which  the  lock  was  fastened 
and  looked  steadily  at  me.  "What's  gone  wrong,  man?" 

"I'm  not  going  to  school  to-day,"  I  answered,  endeavor 
ing  to  be  calm. 

"What's  the  matter?    House  burnt  down  again?" 

"Worse  than  that,  Mr.  Jucklin.    Alf " 

"What  about  him?"  he  broke  in,  nervously  grabbing 
the  chain. 

"Did  you  know  that  he  was  in  love  with  Millie  Lunds- 
ford?"  I  asked,  now  determined  to  be  calm. 

"Well,  what  of  it?  Young  folks  are  in  and  out  of  love 
with  each  other  mighty  nigh  every  day  in  this  neighbor 
hood.  Is  that  Susan  callin'  me?  Be  there  in  a  minute!" 
he  shouted.  "Hasn't  had  a  row  with  the  old  General, 
has  he?" 

"No,  but  with  Dan  Stuart.  They  quarreled  last  night 
and  fought  and  Dan  was  killed." 


154  THE  JUCKL1NS 

His  shoulders  drooped;  he  spoke  not,  but  he  jerked  the 
chain,  the  gate  flew  open  and  he  stepped  inside  and  shut  it 
with  a  slam;  and  I  heard  him  fumbling  with  the  fastening 
that  held  the  door  of  the  coop.  I  strode  away  as  fast  as 
I  could,  went  to  the  school-house  to  dismiss  the  children 
and  to  tell  them  that  I  knew  not  when  the  session  would 
be  resumed."  And  when  I  returned  everything  was  quiet. 
The  old  man  was  slowly  walking  up  and  down  the  spring- 
house  path,  evidently  waiting  for  me. 

'Tell  me  all  about  it,"  he  said,  when  I  came  up;  "tell 
me  from  beginnin'  to  end." 

And  I  told  him  just  as  Alf  had  told  me.  He  listened 
with  his  mouth  half  open,  rolling  up  his  shirt-sleeves  and 
then  rolling  them  down  again,  as  if  he  knew  not  what  to  do 
with  himself. 

"Well,"  he  said,  when  I  was  done,  "I  don't  know  that  I 
can  blame  him,  poor  feller,  but  they'll  hang  him." 

"Do  you  think  so?"  I  cried,  with  a  start,  for  I  had  not 
dwelt  upon  that  possibility;  it  had  not  occurred  to  me,  so 
wrapt  had  I  been  in  thinking  of  his  own  mental  distress 
and  the  heart-breaking  grief  of  his  mother.  "Do  you  really 
think  so?" 

"I  know  it — just  as  clear  to  me  as  that  sunshine.  Stu 
art's  kin  folks  have  got  money  and  they'll  spend  every 
cent  of  it  to  put  Alf  on  the  gallows.  Etheredge  don't  like 
Alf  and  will  spend  every  cent  he's  got;  and  here  we  are 
without  money.  Yes,  they'll  hang  him." 

"But  General  Lundsford — won't    he    stand    as    Alf's 


THE  JUCKLINS  155 

friend  ?» 

The  old  man  shook  his  head.  "He  can't,  and  I  don't 
know  that  he  would  if  he  could.  I  mean  that  he!  can't  and 
still  be  true  to  himself.  Ever  since  our  agreement,  the 
one  I  told  you  about,  he  has  been  putty  open  in  talkin' 
to  me,  and  I  know  that  he  wanted  Millie  to  marry  Stuart. 
No,  he's  too  proud  to  help  us." 

"But  can  he  for  family  reasons  afford  not  to  help  us? 
His  son » 

"Don't  speak  of  that  now,  if  you  please,  sir.  Are  you 
goin'  to  the  house?" 

"I  don't  know.    I  am  almost  afraid  to  meet  his  mother." 

"Don't  be -afraid  of  that.  She  won't  reproach  you;  she 
knows  that  you  had  nothing  to  do  with  it — knows  that 
he  never  would  have  killed  him  if  he  had  asked  your  ad 
vice  and  followed  it." 

"I  don't  mean  that — I  mean  that  I  cannot  bear  to  look 
upon  her  grief." 

"She  is  a  Christian,  sir.  She  is  praying  to  her  God,  and 
whatever  comes  she  will  trust  in  Him.  The  stock  that 
she  is  from  has  stood  at  the  stake,  sir." 

We  were  slowly  walking  toward  the  house.  Suddenly 
he  clutched  my  arm  with  a  grip  that  reminded  me  of  AH, 
and  in  a  voice  betraying  more  emotion  than  I  had 
known  him  to  show,  asked  whether  I  intended  to  leave 
him.  I  put  my  arm  about  him  and  pressed  him  to  me,  just 
as  if  he  were  Alf  telling  me-  of  the  love-trouble  that  lay 
upon  his  heart. 


155  THE  JUCKL1NS 

"I  understand  you,  God  bless  you,"  he  said.  "Don't 
say  a  word;  I  understand  you.  Git  on  the  mare  and  go  to 
town  and  find  out  all  you  can.  I  won't  go  jest  now — can't 
stand  to  see  my  son  in  jail.  But  don't  say  a  word,  for  I 
understand  you.  I  reckon  the  neighborhood  is  pretty 
well  alive  over  it  by  this  time.  See  if  they'll  let  him  go 
about  on  bail,  but  I  don't  reckon  they  will,  even  if  he  did 
give  himself  up.  They'll  think  that  he  done  it  because 
he  must  have  knowed  that  they  were  bound  to  catch  him. 
Go  on  and  do  whatever  your  jedgment  tells  you,  and  I 
know  it  will  be  all  right.'' 

Over  the  road  I  went,  toward  Purdy,  and  the  people 
who  had  come  out  of  their  houses  to  speak  words  of  en 
couragement  to  Alf  and  me  when  we  were  on  our  way  to 
see  the  Aimes  boys  tried,  now  stood  about  their  doors, 
gazing  stupidly.  At  the  wagon-maker's  shop  a  crowd 
was  gathered,  and  I  was  recognized  as  I  drew  near  by 
young  men  who  had  met  me  at  the  General's  house  the 
night  before — now  so  long  ago,  it  seemed — and  they 
came  out  into  the  road  and  urged  me  to  tell  them  all  I 
knew.  I  felt  that  Etheredge  had  already  stirred  in  his 
own  coloring,  but  I  told  the  story  of  the  tragedy  just  as  I 
had  told  it  to  the  old  man;  and  I  had  gathered  rein  to 
resume  my  journey  when  a  man  rode  up.  "I'm  going 
back  to  town!"  he  shouted,  waving  his  hand  to  a  man  who 
stood  in  the  door  of  the  wagon-maker's  shop.  I  rode  on 
and  he  came  up  beside  me. 

"Are  you  Mr.  Hawes?"  he  asked,  and  when  I  had  an- 


THE  JUCKLINS  167 

swered  him  he  said:    "I  am  Dr.  Etheredge." 

I  bowed  and  he  nodded  with  distinct  coolness.  He  was 
not  of  happy  appearance;  he  was  lean  and  angular,  gray 
beyond  the  demand  of  his  years,  and  it  struck  me  that  he 
must  be  given  to  drink,  not  because  he  was  gray,  but  be 
cause  there  were  puffs  under  his  eyes  and  broken  veins 
where  his  skin  was  stretched  over  his  high  cheek-bones. 

"A  devil  of  an  affair,  this,"  he  said.  "Man  met  in  the 
public  highway  and  murdered." 

"Don't  put  it  that  way,"  I  spoke  up,  "for  perhaps  you 
are  not  yet  acquainted  with  the  causes  that  led  to  it." 

"No  cause,  sir,  should  lead  to  murder." 

"I  agree  with  you  there,  but  many  a  man  has  been 
compelled  to  kill  in  order  to  save  his  own  life." 

He  sneered  at  me.  "But  has  many  a  man  been  com 
pelled  to  stand  for  hours  in  a  public  road,  and  in  ordei 
to  save  his  own  life  shoot  down  an  innocent  person?  ] 
always  held  that  Alf  Jucklin  was  a  dangerous  and  a 
desperate  man,  and  everybody  knows  that  he  comes  of  that 
breed.  I  never  did  like  him;  and  he  took  a  dislike  to 
me  without  cause.  Stood  near  a  church  in  a  crowd  of 
men  one  day  wjhen  I  seemed  to  be  under  discussion  and 
declared  that  a  man  to  be  a  doctor  ought  to  be  smart 
and  to  be  smart  a  man  must  say  something  to  prove  the 
thought  within  him ;  and  then  he  asked  if  an,y  one  had  ever 
heard  me  say  anything  worth  remembering." 

I  felt  that  he  wanted  to  quarrel  with  me,  and  1  was  in 
the  humor  to  gratify  him.  "And  did  anyone  ever  hear 


158  THE  JtTCKLItfS 

you  say  a  thing  worth  remembering?"  I  asked. 

"Sir!"  he  snarled. 

"You  heard  what  I  said.  And  I  take  a  degree  of  cool 
pleasure  in  telling  you  before  we  go  further  that  you  can't 
ride  a  high  horse  over  me." 

"A  pedagogue's  pedantry,"  he  muttered. 

"A  man's  truth,"  I  replied.  "And  by  the  way,"  I  added, 
"you  appear  to  be  well  horsed.  Suppose  you  ride  on 
ahead." 

"Does  this  road  belong  to  you,  sir?"  he  demanded,  turn 
ing  a  severe  brow  upon  me. 

"A  part  of  it  does,  and  I  am  going  to  ride  over  thai 
part  without  annoyance.  Do  you  understand?" 

"Sir,  I  can  understand  impudence  even  if  I  can't  say  a 
thing  worth  remembering.  But  rather  than  have  words 
with  you  I  will  ride  on,  not  to  accommodate  you,  but  to 
preserve  my  own  dignity  and  self-respect." 

"Good!"  I  mockingly  cried,  "and  if  you  continue  to  im 
prove  in  expression  I  shall  after  a  while  be  forced  to  be 
lieve  that  Alf's  estimate  of  you  was  placed  too  low." 

"I  thank  you,  sir,  for  giving  me  the  opportunity  to  say 
that  a  jury's  estimate  will  hereafter  most  influence  your 
friend,  and  that  he  will  be  placed  high  enough." 

"You  continue  to  improve,  Doctor,  and  I  believe  that 
your  last  remark  is  worth  remembering.  At  least,  I  shall 
remember  it,  and  when  this  trouble  is  over,  no  matter  what 
the  result  may  be,  I  will  hold  you  to  account  for  it.  And 
to  prove  that  I  am  in  earnest  I'll  lend  you  the  weight  of 


THE  JUCKLiNS  159 

this."  And  with  that  I  cut  at  his  face  with  a  switch.  His 
horse  shied  and  the  apple  tree  sprout  whistled  in  the  air. 
He  said  something  about  hoping  to  meet  me  again  and 
rode  off  at  a  brisk  canter.  I  knew  that  I  had  acted 
unwisely,  felt  it  even  while  the  impulse  was  rising  fresh 
and  strong  within  me,  but  I  was  in  no  humor  to  bear 
with  him.  I  rode  along  more  slowly  than  I  was  dis 
posed,  to  let  him  pass  out  of  my  sight,  for  every  time  I 
looked  up  and  saw  him  I  felt  a  new  anger.  And  I  was 
relieved  when  a  turn  in  the  road  placed  him  beyond  my 
view.  I  heard  a  galloping  behind,  and,  looking  round, 
I  saw  the  old  General  coming  with  a  cavalryman's  reck 
lessness.  He  dashed  up  and  did  not  draw  rein  until  he 
was  almost  upon  me. 

"Whoa!  I  have  been  trying  to  overtake  you,  Hawes. 
What  did  I  tell  you?  Didn't  I  say  that  the  country  was 
gone?  I'll  swear  I  don't  know  what  we  are  coming  to 
when  a'  man  is  shot  down  in  the  road  like  that." 

General,  did  you  overtake  me  to  ride  to  town  with  me?v 

"I  did;  yes,. sir." 

'Then  you  mustn't  talk  that  way." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  sir.  Perhaps  I  should  not  have  ex 
pressed  myself  in  that  manner.  Let  us  ride  along  and 
discuss  it  quietly.  Tell  me  what  you  know.'' 

"It  were  better,  General " 

"Never  mind  about  your  grammar  and  your  bookish 
phrasing.  Tell  me  what  led  up  to  it." 

"Must  I  tell  you  that  your  daughter  is " 


160  THE  JUCKLINS 

"By  G ,  sir,  what  do  you  mean?" 

"You  needn't  turn  on  me,  sir." 

"Surely  not.    Pardon  me.    What  about  it?" 

"I  don't  know  that  I  ought  to  tell  you — a  man  of  more 
judgment  wouldn't — but  I  suppose  I  must  now  that  I 
have  gone  so  far.  Alf  is  in  love  with  your  daughter,  and 
on  that  account  Stuart  insulted  him,  abused  him  at  the 
point  of  a  pistol." 

Then  I  told  him  all  that  I  could,  all  but  the  fact  that 
Stuart  had  spoken  slightingly  of  the  girl,  for  I  knew  that 
this  would  only  enrage  him  and,  indeed,  set  him  harder 
against  Alf,  as  he  would  doubtless  believe  that  my  friend 
had  simply  forged  a  mean  excuse.  For  some  distance 
after  I  had  told  him  the  story,  he  rode  along  in  silence, 
troubled  of  countenance  and  with  his  head  hanging  low. 
But  just  before  we  came  into  the  town  he  looked  up  and 
said:  "Poor  fool,  I  can't  help  him." 

"But  you  can  see  that  justice  is  done." 

"Mr.  Hawes,  in  this  instance  we  may  take  different  views 
of  justice.  Pardon  me,  but  your  friendship — and,  indeed, 
I  can  but  honor  you  for  it — your  friendship  may  cry  out 
against  justice." 

"I  admit,  General,  that  my  friendship  is  strong,  although 
I  have  known  the  young  man  but  a  short  time,  yet  I 
think  that  I  respect  justice." 

"We  all  think  so  until  justice  pinches  us,"  he  replied, 
placing  himself  in  firm  opposition  to  me,  yet  doing  it 
kindly.  "I  am  more  concerned  in  this,  Mr.  Hawes,  than 


THE  JUCKLINS  16l 

you  can  well  conceive.  I  can  say  this,  but  I  cannot  follow 
it  up  with  an  explanation.  But  the  fact  that  he  stood  wait 
ing  there  in  the  road  is  what  will  tell  most  against  him. 
Had  he  met  him  at  another  time,  under  almost  any  other 
conditions,  it  would  have  been  different,  would  have  taken 
away  the  aspect  of  calculated  murder.  Yes,  I  am  deeply 
concerned  and  on  two  accounts.  But  I  cannot  mention 
them.  Dan  Stuart  was  near  to  me;  I  had  known  him  all 
his  life  and  he  was  a  young  man  of  promise,  was  popular 
throughout  the  community — more  popular  than  Alf,  and 
this  will  have  its  effect." 

"But  wasn't  he  more  popular  because  he  had  more 
money?"  I  asked,  and  the  old  General  gave  me  a  look 
of  reproof. 

"Money  does  not  make  so  much  difference  in  the  South, 
sir.  You  have  been  filling  your  head  with  Northern  books. 
It  is  refinement,  sir,  real  worth  that  weighs  in  the  South." 

"I  hope  not  to  antagonize  you,  General,  but  I  am  of 
the  South  and  I  have  cause  to  hold  an  opposite  opinion. 
Have  I  not  seen  the  most  vulgar  of  men  held  in  high  favor 
because  they  were  rich?  The  mere  existence  of  a  state  line 
does  not  change  human  nature.  Man  is  not  changed 
even  by  the  lines  drawn  about  empires." 

"I  admit,  sir,  that  the  South  has  undergone  a  change, 
but  in  my  day  a  man  was  measured  according  to  his  real 
worth,  not  in  gold,  but  in  honorable  qualities." 

"It  is  but  natural  to  look  back  with  the  prejudiced  eye 
of  affection,  General,  and  it  is  respectful  that  I  should  not 


1<&  THE  JUCKLINS 

argue  \vith  you.    I  turn  here  to  the  livery-stable.    Good- 
moaning." 

"I  honor  you  for  your  consideration,  sir,"  he  replied, 
bowing.  "Let  us  hope  for  the  best,  but  I  must  stand  by 
justice." 

When  I  had  put  up  my  horse  I  went  directly  to  the 
jail.  A  crowd  hung  about  the  doors,  eager  to  see  the 
prisoner.  When  I  told  the  jailer  who  I  was  he  admitted 
me  without  a  word.  Alf  sprang  from  a  bench,  seeing  me 
enter  the  corridor,  and  came  forward  to  the  bars  of  his 
cell. 

"Not  much  room  for  shaking  hands  here,  Bill,"  he  said, 
smiling  sadly.  "It  is  already  an  age  since  I  left  home, 
How  are  you,  old  man?  Tell  me  how  they  took  it.  No, 
don't.  I  know.  Well,  I  gave  myself  up  and  the  sheriff 
wouldn't  believe  me  at  first,  but  he  got  it  through  his  head 
after  a  while.  He  was  very  kind  and  when  he  had  locked 
me  in  here  he  went  to  see  whether  I  could  be  let  out  on  bail, 
but  I  understand  that  I  can't.  It's  all  right;  I  might  as 
well  be  in  here.  Bill,  I  have  tried  to  feel  sorry  for  killing 
him,  but  I  can't.  I  reckon  I  must  be  about  as  mean  as 
they  make  them.  And  it  will  all  come  out  pretty  soon,  for 
court  is  still  in  session  and  all  they've  got  to  do  is  to  rig 
up  their  jury  after  the  inquest  and  go  ahead.  I'm  going  to 
make  the  best  of  it.  The  worst  feature  is  the  disgrace 
and  suffering  at  home,  and,  of  course,  that  almost  tears 
my  heart  out  when  I  let  it.  But  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I'd 
rather  be  hanged  than  to  be  on  the  grid-iron  all  the  time. 


THE  JUCKLINS  163 

Who's  that?" 

Etheredge  came  into  the  corridor.  He  leered  at  Alf  and 
Alf  sneered  at  him.  "I  suppose  you  found  the  dog  that 
I  told  you  was  lying  in  the  road — the  dog  that  tried  to 
bite  me,"  said  Alf,  with  a  cold  smile. 

"Jucklin,  I  didn't  come  in  here  to  be  insulted." 

"All  right,  there's  the  door.  Say,  there,  jailer,  you  have 
just  let  in  a  gray  rat  and  I  wish  you'd  come  and  drive 
him  out." 

I  turned  to  Etheredge  and  pointed  to  the  door.  "I  must 
respect  your  wish,"  he  said,  speaking  to  me.  "I've  an  en 
gagement  with  you — you  are  to  be  my  guest,"  and  without 
another  word  'he  strode  away. 

I  remained  with  Alf  as  long  as  the  jailer  thought  it  pru 
dent  to  let  me  stay,  and  then  I  went  about  the  town  to 
gather  its  sentiment.  And  I  was  grieved  to  find  that 
every  one  declared  it  to  be  cold-blooded  murder.  My 
heart  was  heavy  as  I  rode  toward  home,  for  the  old  people 
were  looking  to  me  for  encouragement.  Guinea  met  me 
at  the  gate.  She  tried  to  smile,  but  failed. 

"Don't  try  to  look  pleased  at  seeing  me,"  I  said.  "It  is 
too  much  of  an  effort."  And  if  she  could  not  smile  she 
could  give  me  a  look  of  gratitude.  She  went  with  me  to 
the  stable,  saying  not  a  word;  and  when  I  had  turned  the 
horse  loose  she  followed  me  to  the  sitting-room.  At  the 
door  I  faltered,  but  Mrs.  Jucklin's  voice  bade  me  enter. 
She  was  sitting  in  a  rocking-chair,  with  the  Bible  in  her 
lap,  and  placing  her  hand  upon  the  book,  she  thus  spoke 


m  THE  JUCKLINS 

to  me:  "Don't  hesitate  to  talk,  for  His  rod  and  His  staff 
shall  comfort  me." 

I  had  not  noticed  the  old  man,  so  bent  were  my  eyes 
upon  his  wife,  but  now  he  arose  into  view,  and,  coming 
to  me,  he  whispered:  "From  the  stock  that  stood  at  the 
stake." 

I  told  them  all  I  knew,  which  was  not  much;  and  then 
knelt  down  and  prayed  with  them. 


TELE  JUCKL1NS  166 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Stuart  was  buried  the  next  day,  and  the  mourners  passed 
our  house.  Mrs.  Jucklin  was  sitting  at  the  window  when 
the  hearse  and  the  buggies  came  within  sight,  and  her 
chin  was  unsteady  as  she  reached  for  her  book.  And 
there  she  sat,  holding  the  old  leather-covered  Bible  in  her 
lap. 

I  had  thought  that  Chyd  Lundsford  would  come,  with 
words  of  encouragement,  but  we  saw  him  not,  neither  that 
day  nor  the  next.  But  four  days  later  I  came  upon  him  as 
I  was  going  to  town.  He  had  a  gun,  was  followed  by  a 
number  of  squirrel-dogs  and  came  out  of  the  woods  near 
the  spot  where  Alf  had  eased  Stuart  from  his  horse  to  the 
ground.  I  stopped  and  bluntly  asked  him  why  he  had  not 
been  over,  and  he  answered  that  he  was  busy  preparing 
for  a  rigid  examination.  I  asked  if  they  were  going  to  ex 
amine  him  on  the  artf  of  killing  game,  and  he  laughed  and 
replied :  "No,  on  the  science  of  killing  men.  By  the  way/' 
he  added,  looking  up  into  the  top  of  a  tree,  "how  is  Alf 
getting  along?  Does  he  appear  to  be  hopeful?" 

"He  is  more  desperate  than  hopeful,"  I  answered. 

"Yes,  I  should  think  so.  Is  that  a  squirrel's  nest?  I 
have  heard  it  hinted  that  a  love-affair  had  something  to  do 


166  THE  JUCKLINS 

with  it — an  affair  pretty  close,  at  that.  Well,  Pve  got  noth 
ing  to  do  with  it.  Can't  drive  out  of  my  mind  what  1 
have  had  so  hard  a  time  driving  into  it.  Sorry,  and  all 
that  sort  of  thing.  That's  no  squirrel's  nest.  But  if  people 
persist  in  being  romantic  they  must  expect  to  have  trouble. 
I'm  sorry  for  the  old  folks — must  take  it  rather  hard. 
Good-hearted  and  simple  enough  to  worry  over  it,  surely. 
Well,  if  you  happen  to  think  of  it,  give  Alf  my  regards." 

The  coroner's  jury  had  returned  an  expected  verdict, 
influenced  largely  by  what  Etheredge  had  to  say.  I  had 
given  my  testimony,  but  I  could  not  make  it  sound  as  I 
wanted  it — Alf's  own  words  were  against  him,  as  I  re 
peated  them  that  day.  The  preliminary  trial,  the  mum 
mery  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  also  went  against  Alf; 
the  grand  jury  had  brought  in  its  finding,  and  the  next 
step  was  the  formal  arraignment  before  the  circuit  judge. 
And  I  was  now  on  my  way  to  town  to  engage  additional 
legal  help,  as  the  lawyer  whom  we  had  retained  appeared 
to  be  luke-warm  and  half-hearted.  I  had  heard  many 
stories  relating  to  the  great  force  and  ability  of  an  old 
ex-judge  named  Conkwright,  and  I  called  at  his  office, 
though  I  had  been  warned  that  his  price  was  exceedingly 
high.  He  met  me  gruffly,  I  thought,  but  I  soon  discov 
ered  that  he  had  a  heart.  I  told  Alf's  story,  now  so  familiar 
to  my  own  ears  that  I  fancied  that  I  could  give  it  with 
effect,  and  I  must  have  touched  him,  for  he  said:  "Oh, 
well,  I'll  go  into  it  and  we'll  say  nothing  about  the  price. 
I've  been  working  for  nothing  all  my  life,  and  I  don't  see 


THE  JUCKLINS  167 

why  I  should  change  now.  Why,  of  course,  he  ought  to 
have  killed  him,"  and  his  old  eyes  shone  as  he  said  it.  "Had 
to  kill  him.  It  strikes  me  that  they  are  rushing  things 
pretty  fast,  especially  as  the  docket  is  covered  with  mur 
der  cases  that  have  been  put  over  from  time  to  time.  That 
Stuart  set  has  lots  of  influence.  Beat  me  for  re-election, 
I  know  that.  But  we'll  show  them  a  few  things  that  arc 
not  put  down  in  the  books.  And  you  don't  want  the  young- 
lady's  name  mentioned.  Of  course,  not.  Wouldn't  be 
gallant,  eh?  Well,  I'll  go  down  and  see  the  young  fellow 
some  time  to-day.  They'll  take  it  up  in  about  a  week  from 
now,  that  is,  if  we  are  ready,  and  we'll  be  there.  Tell  old 
Jucklin  not  to  fret.  He's  an  old  lion-tamer,  I  tell  you, 
and  if  I  had  any  interest  in  that  fellow  Etheredge  I'd  ad 
vise  him  to  walk  pretty  straight.  But  the  old  man  has 
quieted  down  mightily  of  late  years." 

Alf  had  undergone  no  change.  He  was  glad  to  know 
that  Conkwright  took  an  interest  in  him,  but  he  shook 
his  head  when  I  told  him  that  we  were  sure  to  win. 

"I  don't  believe  it,  Bill;  don't  believe  it  because  I  don't 
feel  it.  But  don't  tell  the  old  folks  that  I'm  not  hopeful. 
Have  you  seen  Millie?" 

"No,  and  have  seen  Chyd  but  once,  and  then  I  came 
upon  him  in  the  road." 

"What,  hasn't  he  been  to  the  house?  A  fine  husband 
he'll  make  for  Guinea.  Tell  her  that  I  say  she  must  for 
bid  his  coming  near  her  again.  No,  don't,"  he  added. 
"It's  better  to  wait.  I  wish  she  loved  you,  Bill,  but  I'm 


168  THE  JUCKLINS 

afraid  she  doesn't." 

"I  know  she  doesn't,"  I  replied. 

"Has  she  said  so?" 

"No,  but  she  seems  always  afraid  that  I  may  tell  her  ot 
my  love." 

"And  I  would  if  I  were  you,  Bill.  No,  not  yet.  Tell 
father  not  to  come  near  me  yet  a  while.  He  couldn't 
stand  it." 

He  had  written  home,  begging  his  parents  and  his  sister 
not  to  think  of  seeing  him,  had  actually  commanded  them 
not  to  come  near  the  jail. 

"Mother  can  stand  more  than  he  can,  for  she's  more 
religious.  How  about  your  school?" 

"Oh,  it's  all  right.  The  people  know  that  I  couldn't 
teach  now,  even  if  I  should  try  ever  so  hard,  and  they 
are  very  considerate.  They  say  that  they  are  willing  to 
wait." 

"God  bless  them  for  that,  any  way.  And  this  reminds 
me  of  a  preacher  that  came  in  yesterday  to  pray  for  me. 
I  thanked  him  for  his  kindness,  but  told  him  that  some 
one  was  at  home  praying,  and  that  one  of  her  words  had 
more  influence  in  my  behalf  than  all  the  prayers  he  could 
utter  in  a  life-time.  I  merely  mention  this  to  show  what 
sort  of  an  atmosphere  I'm  in.  I  didn't  like  the  fellow's 
looks — understand  that  he  hasn't  been  a  preacher  but  a 
week.  Still  on  suspicion,  as  they  say,  Bill.  I  was  almost 
crazy,  but  my  mind  has  cooled  wonderfully.  A  fellow's 
mind  generally  does  after  he's  done  the  worst  he  can." 


THE  JUCKLINS  169 

"I  hope  that  my  reading  of  the  poem  didn't  start  you 
off." 

"Oh,  no,  that  had  nothing  to  do  with  it — relieved  me,  if 
anything;  set  me  to  thinking  that  some  one  else  had  been 
in  the  same  fix.  By  the  way,  a  telegraph  operator  here 
brings  me  something  nearly  every  day.  Says  that  he's  a 
life-long  friend  of  yours.  Told  me  to  tell  you  that  he  was 
about  to  pick  up  a  piece  of  calico  and  take  it  home  with 
him — said  that  you  would  understand.  Now,  you  go  on 
home  and  stay  there  until  the  trial.  You  have  almost 
worn  yourself  out.  You  and  the  General  are  still  on  good 
terms,  I  suppose.  Wish  you  could  slip  over  there  and  see 
Millie.  Do  you  know  what  Chyd's  waiting  for?  He's 
waiting  to  see  how  the  trial  goes.  Bill,  I'm  beginning  to 
feel  sorry  for  Stuart.  But  his  face  doesn't  come  up  before 
me  at  night  with  a  death-look.  There's  a  good  deal  of 
nonsense  about  that  sort  of  thing.  When  I  see  him  he's 
always  sitting  on  his  horse,  cursing  me.  And  that's  not 
very  pleasant.  Go  on,  Bill.  I  have  kept  you  too  long.  It's 
nearly  night." 

Old  man  Jucklin  was  smartly  encouraged  when  I  told 
him  what  the  ex-judge  had  said,  and  he  related  a  number 
of  anecdotes  of  the  old  fellow's  early  days  on  the  circuit. 

"Oh,  help  is  comin'  our  way,"  old  Limuel  said,  and  his 
wife,  pointing  to  her  book,  replied:  "It  has  always  been 
with  us." 

"At  the  stake,"  he  whispered. 

I  did  not  speak  of  having  seen  Chyd.    I  had  no  right 


170  THE  JCFCKLINS 

to  do  so,  for  I  knew  that  he  was  now  an  additional  dis 
tress.  But  the  next  morning  when  Guinea  and  I  were 
alone  at  the  breakfast  table  she  asked  me  if  I  had  not  met 
him  down  the  road — said  that  she  had  seen  him  crossing 
the  meadows  with  his  dogs.  I  began  to  quibble  and  she 
spoke  up  spiritedly:  "Oh,  you  shouldn't  hesitate  to  tell 
me.  It  amounts  to  nothing,  I'm  sure." 

"I  must  manage  some  way  to  see  Millie,"  I  remarked, 
determined  to  say  no  more  about  Chyd  lest  I  should  lose 
my  temper. 

"1  hope  you  won't  go  to  the  house,"  she  replied,  her  face 
coloring. 

"I  won't,  but  I  didn't  know  but  that  I  might  see  her 
going  to  a  neighbor's  house  and  then " 

"No,"  she  broke  in  "I  hope  you  won't  even  do  that. 
She  must  know  how  we  feel,  and  if  she  had  any  interest 
in  us  she  would  come  over  here.  No,  I  won't  say  that. 
I  don't  know  what  she  may  have  to  contend  with.  But  her 
brother  could  come  if  he  wanted  to,  but  it  makes  no  differ 
ence,  I'm  sure." 

"Suppose  I  meet  Millie  in  the  road;  shall  I  speak  to  her?" 

"Surely,  but  don't  ask  her  why  she  hasn't  been  to  see  us. 
What  did  Chyd  say?" 

"Not  much  of  anything — said  that  so  long  as  people 
were  romantic  they  must  expect  trouble." 

She  frowned  and  thus  replied:  "A  good  authority  on 
the  evils  of  romance." 

"Why  not  an  expert  on  the  thrills  of  romance?"  I  asked 


THE  JUCKL1NS  1T1 

"Hasn't  he  played  up  and  down  the  brook ??' 

"So  have  the  ducks,"  she  answered,  with  a  return  of  her 
smile.  "But  let  us  not  talk  about  him — I  would  rather 
not  think  about  him." 

I  could  not  play  the  part  of  a  hero;  I  was  not  of  the 
stock  that  had  stood  at  the  stake  glorifying  the  deed  with 
a  hymn.  I  had  wanted  to  drop  the  subject,  not  because  it 
was  painful  to  her,  but  because  it  pressed  a  spike  into  my 
own  flesh;  but  her  wish  to  dismiss  him  from  her  mind 
urged  me  to  keep  him  there,  to  torture  her  with  him. 
Brute?  Surely;  I  have  never  denied  it,  but  I  loved  her, 
and  in  love  there  is  no  generosity.  The  lover  who  seeks 
to  be  liberal  is  a  hypocrite,  a  sneak-thief  robbing  his  own 
heart. 

"But  how  can  you  put  him  out  of  your  mind  if  he  is 
worthy  of  your  love?"  I  asked.  "You  did  not  place  him 
therein,  nor  can  you  take  him  away." 

She  looked  at  me  a  long  time,  looked  at  me  and  read 
me;  she  did  not  frown,  she  smiled  not,  but  searched  me 
with  her  eyes  until  I  felt  that  my  motive  lay  bare  under 
her  gaze.  "You  would  help  Alf  in  his  trouble,"  she  said, 
"but  you  would  throw  a  trouble  at  me." 

How  sadly  she  spoke  those  words,  and  my  heart  fell 
under  them  and  lay  at  her  feet  in  sorrow  and  in  humilia 
tion.  I  strove  to  beg  for  pardon,  but  I  stammered  and 
my  words  were  almost  meaningless. 

"Oh,  you  have  my  forgiveness,  if  that  is  what  you  are 
trying  to  ask  for.  Now,  please  don't  say  anything  more. 


tl8  THE  JUCKLINS 

I  know  you  didn't  mean  to  make  me  feel  bad." 

"I  think  I'd  better  cut  my  throat!"  I  replied,  taking  up 
a  table  knife. 

She  laughed  at  me.  "How  can  a  big  man  be  so  silly? 
Cut  your  throat,  indeed.  Why,  what  have  you  done  to  de 
serve  it?" 

"What  have  I  done?"  I  cried,  leaning  over  the  table 
and  making  a  fumble,  as  if  I  would  take  her  hand — 
"what  have  I  done?  I  have  wantonly  wounded  the  di- 
vinest  creature " 

She  was  on  her  feet  in  an  instant;  she  put  her  hands  to 
her  ears  and  shook  her  head  at  me.  "No,  you  must  not 
say  that.  Don't  you  see  I  can't  hear  what  you  say?  So, 
what  is  the  use  of  saying  anything?  Think  you  are  a 
brute?  No..  I  don't;  but  you  must  not  talk  like  ihat.  I 
can't  hear  you — I  won't  hear  you.  Oh,  don't  worry  about 
Mr.  Lundsford.  He  will  kneel  at  my  feet." 


THE  JUCKLIKS  H8 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  next  day  I  took  a  "turn"  of  corn  to  the  water-mill, 
far  down  the  stream.  The  old  man  had  not  been  off  the 
place  since  Alf  went  to  jail,  and  the  office  of  attending  to 
all  outside  affairs  was  conferred  upon  me.  Guinea  came 
out  to  the  corn-crib  and  stood  at  the  door,  looking  in  upon 
me  as  I  tied  the  mouth  of  the  "bag.  The  old  man  was  not 
far  off,  calling  his  hogs;  a  sad  cry  at  any  time,  but  growing 
sadder,  it  seemed  to  me,  as  the  days  wore  along. 

"Old  Moll  will  have  a  load,"  the  girl  said;  "you  and 
that  bag." 

"Yes,  if  I  were  to  ride  on  the  bag  like  a  boy,  but  I'm 
going  to  walk  and  lead  her." 

"Oh,  that  will  be  nice,"  she  cried.  "Nice  for  Moll.  I 
wish  I  could  go  with  you.  It's  beautiful  all  down  that 
way;  high  rocks  and  pools  with  fish  in  them.  It  isn't  so 
awfully  far,  either.  I  have  walked  it  many  a  time." 

"Alone?"  I  asked,  tugging  at  the  string. 

"That  doesn't  matter.  It's  the  distance  I'm  talking 
about.  Wtiy,  you  haven't  asked  me  to  go." 

"But  I  ask  you  now,"  I  said,  dragging  the  bag  toward 
the  door. 

"No,  I  won't  go  now,"  she  replied,  making  way  for  me 


174  T11E  JUCKLINS 

to  come  out. 

"Won't  you,  please?" 

"No,  not  since  I  have  come  to  think  about  it.  I'd  have 
to  walk  along  all  the  time  with  my  hands  to  my  ears,  for 
I  just  know  you'd  say  something  I  don't  want  to  hear. 
You  are  as  cruel  as  you  can  be,  lately." 

I  had  taken  up  the  bag  to  throw  it  across  the  mare,  but 
I  dropped  it  upon  the  log  step. 

"You'll  burst  it  if  you  don't  mind,  Mr.  Hawes." 

"But  I  handle  it  more  tenderly  than  you  do  my  heart!" 
I  cried.  "You  have  thrown  my  heart  down  in  the  dust  and 
are  trying  to  burst  it." 

Her  hands  flew  to  her  ears.  "Oh,  I  knew  you  were 
going  to  say  something  mean.  But  I  can't  hear  you  now. 
Isn't  it  an  advantage  to  say  what  you  please  and  not  hear 
a  word  ?  You  can  do  this  way  if  you  want  to.  No,  I  won't 
go — really,  I  can't.  I  mustn't  leave  mother." 

She  ran  away  toward  the  house,  and  I  stood  watching 
her  until  she  was  hidden  behind  the  old  man's  "stockade." 
Torturer  she  was,  sometimes  with  "her  dignity,  but  worse 
with  her  whimsical,  childish  ways,  when  she  seemed  to 
dance  on  the  outer  edge  of  my  life,  daring  me  to  catch  her 
in  my  arms.  But  was  it  not  my  size  that  made  her  feel  like 
a  child?  It  must  have  been,  for  whenever  she  spoke  of 
Chyd  she  was  deeply  serious.  I  was  resentful  as  I  led  the 
old  mare  toward  the  mill.  Oh,  I  understood  it  all.  She 
had  seen  that  I  sought  to  punish  her,  had  read  me  as  we 
1  t  together  at  the  table,  and  now  she  was  torturing  me. 


THE  JUCKLItfS  178 

Well,  I  would  give  her  no  further  opportunity;  I  would 
let  her  lead  young  Lundsford  into  her  mind  and  out  again, 
just  as  it  suited  her  fancy. 

The  coves  and  nooks  and  quiet  pools  that  lay  along  the 
stream  were  dreamful;  there  was  not  a  mighty  rock 
nor  bold  surprising  bluff  to  startle  one  with  its  grandeur, 
but  at  the  end  of  every  view  was  the  promise  of  a  resting 
place  and  never  was  the  fancy  led  to  disappointment, 
Now  gurgle  and  drip,  now  perfect  calm,  the  elm  leaf  mo 
tionless,  the  bird  dreaming.  And  had  history  marched 
down  that  quiet  vale  a  thousand  years  ago  and  tinged 
the  water' with  the  blood  of  man,  how  sweetly  verse  would 
sing  its  beauty,  from  what  distances  would  come  the 
poet  and  the  artist,  the  rich  man  seeking  rest — all  would 
flock  to  marvel  and  to  praise.  Ah,  we  care  but  little  for 
what  nature  has  done,  until  man  has  placed  his  stamp 
upon  it. 

I  loitered  and  mused  upon  going  to  the  mill  and 
upon  returning  home.  And  when  I  came  within  sight 
of  the  house  I  halted -suddenly,  wondering  whether  I  had 
forgotten  something.  Yes,  I  had.  I  had  forgotten  my  re 
solve  to  be  cool  and  dignified  under  the  reading  eyes  of 
that  girl.  I  led  the  mare  to  the  rear  end  of  the  passage  and 
had  taken  off  the  bag  of  meal  when  Guinea  came  out. 

"Mr.  Hawes,"  she  said,  "I  wish  you  would  forgive  me  for 
the  way  I  acted  last  night  and  this  morning.  Now  let  r.s 
be  good  friends,  friends  in  trouble,  and  let  us  hereafter 
talk  with  sense  and  without  restraint.  I  am  going  to  be 


176  THE  JUCKLINS 

frank  with  you,  for  I  don't  see  why  I  should  be  cramped. 
I  am  not  going  to  pretend  not  to  know— know  some 
thing,  and  you  must  wait;  we  must  all  wait  for — for  any 
thing  that  is  to  come.  I  hardly  know  what  I  am  saying, 
but  you  understand  me." 

She  held  out  her  hand,  and  I  took  it,  tremulously  at 
first,  but  I  held  it  with  a  firm  and  manly  honesty  as  I 
looked  into  her  eyes.  "Yes,  I  understand  you,  and  it  shall 
be  as  you  say.  I  have  been  strong  with  every  one  but  you, 
and  I  am  going  to  show  you  that  I  can  be  your  friend. 
Wait  a  moment.  You  know  what  I  think,  but  I  will  not 
hint  at  it  again.  It  was  mean  of  me — yes,  I  must  say  it — 
it  was  mean  of  me  to  jibe  you.  But  I'll  not  do  it  again. 
If  you  only  knew  what  my  early  life  was.  I  was  the  victim 
of  size,  an  awkward  boy,  the  jest  of  a  neighborhood;  and 
while  I  might  have  outlived  some  of  my  awkwardness, 
I  am  still  sensitive,  for  I  carry  scars." 

"Awkward,"  she  laughed.  "Why,  I  don't  see  how  you* 
could  have  been  called  awkward.  Everybody  at  the  Gen 
eral's  spoke  of  how  graceful  you  were,  and  really  it  would 
make  you  vain  if  I  were  to  tell  you  all  that  was  said." 

The  old  man  came  round  the  house,  and  Guinea  sprang 
back.  I  was  still  holding  her  hand.  "Hah,"  he  grunted. 
"Got  home  all  right,  eh?  Parker  was  over  here  just  now 
and  said  that  the  trial  had  been  set  for  next  Thursday,  not 
quite  a  week  from  now,  you  understand.  He  seems  to 
think  we  are  goin'  to  pull  through  all  right;  said  that 
you've  made  friends  with  everybody  in  the  town.  That's 


THE  JUCKLINS  m 

good.,  both  for  now  and  also  for  after  a  while,  when  you 
set  in  as  a  lawyer.  I  tell  you,  Parker's  visit  helped  us 
mightily,  and  Susan  has  eat  a  right  smart  snack,  and 
I  didn't  know  how  hungry  I  was  till  right  then.  You 
better  go  to  town  to-morrow." 

I  went  in  early  the  next  morning  and  found  nothing 
to  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  hopefulness  that  Parker  had 
given  the  old  people.  Conkwright  was  busy  with  the  case, 
frowning  over  his  papers,  but  he  had  no  words  of  en 
couragement,  except  to  say  that  he  was  going  to  do  the 
best  he  could.  But  after  a  while  he  flashed  a  gleam  of 
hope  by  remarking  that  there  was  one  important  factor 
in  our  favor.  And  eagerly  I  asked  him  what  it  was. 

"It  won't  do  to  talk  it  around,"  said  he,  "but  we  can 
count  on  the  judge  doing  the  square  thing.  He  is  com 
paratively  new  in  our  district,  and  the  Stuart  influence 
hasn't  taken  hold  on  him — has  had  no  cause  to.  His 
favor,  or,  at  least,  his  lack  of  a  cause  to  be  directly  against 
us,  will  mean  a  good  deal ;  it  will  enable  us  to  secure  a  new 
trial  at  any  rate." 

As  I  entered  the  corridor  of  the  jail  I  saw  Alf's  face 
brighten  behind  the  bars.  "Have  you  seen  Millie?"  he 
asked. 

"No,  your  sister  commanded  me  not  to  go  near  the 
General's  house." 

His  countenance  fell,  but  he  said :  "I  reckon  she's  right. 
And  I  didn't  mean  that  you  should  make  a  dead-set  (jail, 
you  know — didn't  know  but  you  might  happen  to  meet 


178  THE  JUCKLINS 

her.  That  preacher,  the  one  I  told  you  about,  has  been 
round  again,  and  he  declares  that  I  must  come  into  his 
church.  They  do  pull  and  haul  a  fellow  when  they  get 
him  into  a  corner,  don't  they?  Well,  I  don't  see  what  else 
can  be  done  now  except  to  go  into  court  and  have  the 
thing  over  with.  I  know  as  well  as  I  know  my  name  that 
he  would  have  killed  me  if  I  hadn't  killed  him;  not  that 
night,  of  course,  but  some  time.  I  am  sorry,  though,  that 
I  stood  there  in  the  road,  waiting  for  him,  for  that  does 
look  like  murder.  Bill.  But  look  how  he  had  drawn  his 
sight  between  my  eyes  and  abused  me  for  everything  he 
could  think  of.  And  whenever  I  see  him  now,  there  he  sits 
on  his  horse,  with  one  eye  half  shut  and  the  other  one 
looking  down  the  barrel  of  his  revolver  at  me.  I  can 
see  his  lips  moving  and  can  hear  every  word  he  says." 

I  went  home  that  day  earlier  than  usual,  resolved  to 
keep  the  old  people  in  the  atmosphere  of  encouragement 
which  the  deputy  sheriff  had  breathed  about  them,  and 
I  told  them  that  the  presiding  judge  was  our  friend,  and 
that  old  woman  put  her  worn  hands  in  mine  and  gave 
me  a  look  of  trustful  gratitude.  "God  rewards  the  man 
that  seeks  to  ease  an  old  mother's  heart,"  she  said;  and 
the  old  man,  standing  there,  with  his  sleeves  rolled  up, 
threw  the  droop  out  of  his  shoulders,  the  droop  that  had 
remained  with  him  since  that  early  morning  when  he 
stood  at  the  gate  of  his  "stockade,"  fumbling  with  the 
chain.  "And,  Susan,"  he  spoke  up,  "if  we've  got  two 
judges  on  our  side  we're  all  right.  Let  him  set  down  them, 


THE  JUCKLINS  TO 

now.  Let  him  set  down,  I  tell  you.  When  a  woman  gets 
hold  of  a  man  she  never  knows  when  to  turn  him  loose. 
Pm  tempted  now  to  go  and  see  him.  No,"  he  added, 
shaking  his  head,  "can't  do  it — couldn't  bear  to  see  a  son 
of  mine  locked  up  like  a  thief.  But  it  won't  be  for  long. 
That  judge  will  say,  'turn  that  boy  loose/  and  then — oh, 
it's  all  right,  Susan,  and  a  year  from  now  we'll  almost 
forget  that  it  ever  took  place." 

His  wife  began  to  cry,  for  in  this  trouble  her  heart  de 
manded  that  he  should  lean  upon  her  for  support,  and  it 
appeared  to  me  that  whenever  he  straightened  up  to  stand 
alone,  she  felt  that  her  office  was  gone. 

"Susan,  don't  take  on  that  way.  Jest  as  we  see  our 
way  clear  of  the  woods,  you  act  like  you  are  lost.  Smile, 
till  you  find  the  path,  and  then  you  want  to  cry.  Act 
like  you  want  the  Lord  to  do  it  all — don't  want  the  circuit 
jedge  to  do  nothin'.  That's  it,  brighten  up  there  now,  and, 
Guinea,  you  go  out  and  tell  that  nigger  woman  to  cook 
enough  for  a  dozen  folks.  Hawes,  I've  got  them  chickens 
down  to  a  p'int  that  would  make  your  eyes  bulge  out." 

"I  believe  that  Bob  came  very  near  making  one  oi 
yours  bulge  out,"  I  replied. 

"Ah,  didn't  he,  the  old  scoundrel.  But  Sam  pecked  a 
grain  of  corn  out  of  my  mouth  this  mornin'  and  never 
teched  a  tooth.  That's  what  they  call  art,  ain't  it?  Come 
out  with  me." 

"Limuel,  let  him  stay  with  me,  won't  you?"  his  wife 
pleaded. 


WO  THE  JUCKL1NS 

"Of  course,  Susan,  but  don't  you  reckon  a  man  wants 
to  unstring  himself  once  in  a  while?  They  can't  under 
stand  us,  Hawes.  Women  know  all  about  the  heart,  but 
they  are  sometimes  off  on  the  soul." 

"You  think  more  of  those  old  chickens  than  you  do  of 
me,  anyhow,"  his  wife  whimpered,  still  resentful  that  he 
was  not  leaning  upon  her  for  support. 

"Did  you  hear  that,  Hawes?  By  jings,  sir,  you've  got  to 
be  foolish  or  a  woman  will  think  you've  ceased  to  love 
her.  The  minute  you  are  strong  she  thinks  you  have  for 
gotten  her.  About  the  happiest  woman  I  ever  saw  was 
one  that  had  to  support  a  bed-ridden  husband.  Fact,  as 
sure  as  I'm  standin'  right  here.  She  was  the  kindest  and 
sweetest  thing  you  ever  saw,  but  when  the  feller  got  up 
finally  and  got  strong  enough  to  go  about,  blamed  if  she 
didn't  jump  on  him  every  time  he  come  in  sight." 

"Now,  Limuel,  you  know  you  are  makin'  up  every 
word  of  that." 

"It's  the  truth,  I  tell  you— -knowed  the  man  well/' 

"Well,  who  was  he?" 

"Oh,  he  lived  away  over  yonder  on  the  branch,  out  of 
your  range." 

"He  didn't  live  anywhere;  that's  the  truth  of  it." 

"But,  Susan,  he  might  have  lived  anywhere.  His 
name  is  man  and  his  wife's  name  is  woman.  What,  you 
goin'  to  cry  about  it?  Now,  there,  it's  all  right.  No, 
there  never  was  such  a  man.  I'm  an  old  liar,  that's  what's 
the  matter  with  me.  Never  was  a  man  fitten  to  live  with  a 


JUCKLINfc  18) 

good  woman.  Why,  bless  your  life,  what  would  I  be 
without  you?  Why,  you've  been  the  makin'  of  me.  And 
a  long  time  ago,  when  I  used  to  drink  licker  and  fight, 
you'd  set  up  and  wait  for  me  and  you  never  scolded  me, 
and  that  very  fact  turned  me  agin  licker,  for  I  jest  nach- 
ully  thought  that  it  was  too  much  work  for  you  to  keep 
up  a  show  of  good  humor  all  the  time.  Yes,  it's  all  right, 
and  that  boy's  comin'  out  of  there  without  a  scar  on  him. 
and  I'll  pay  back  the  money  that  I  owe  the  General — 
He  hastened  out  of  the  room,  and  we  heard  him  yelling 
at  his  chickens. 


THE  JPCKLIffS 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

I  went  to  town  every  day,  and  every  night  I  returned 
self-charged  with  hope;  and  now  the  trial  was  at  hand. 
When  the  work  of  impaneling  the  jury  was  begun,  old 
Conkwright  was  there  with  his  challenges.  How  shrewd 
ne  was,  how  sharp  were  his  eyes.  And  when  night  came 
the  panel  was  far  from  complete. 

"It  will  take  a  long1  time  at  this  rate,"  I  said,  as  we  were 
leaving  the  court-room. 

''I  don't  care  if  it  takes  a  thousand  years;  they  sha'n't 
ring  in  a  stuffed  toad  on  me,"  replied  the  ex-judge.  "Did 
you  notice  that  fellow  with  a  long  neck?  They've  fixed 
him  all  right  and  I  knew  it.  I  am  not  altogether  easy 
about  that  short  fellow  we've  got,  but  I  hope  he  is  man 
enough  to  be  honest.  There  is  no  more  trickery  anywhere 
than  there  is  in  a  murder  trial  in  this  country.  Well, 
they've  put  their  worst  men  forward,  and  I  think  we  shall 
have  better  material  to-morrow." 

And  it  appeared  that  we  had,  for  the  jury  was  sworn 
in  the  next  afternoon.  The  testimony  was  so  short  and 
so  direct,  the  witnesses  were  so  few  that  the  trial  could  not 
last  long;  and  when  at  home  I  gave  this  as  an  opinion, 
the  old  people  were  glad,  for  they  declared  that  it  shortened 


VHB  JUCKLIHS  188 

the  time  of  their  son's  absence.  On  the  day  set  for  the 
opening  of  the  argument  hundreds  of  the  farmers  gave 
over  their  work  and  rode  to  town,  for  the  Southerner  loves 
a  passionate  speech,  and  the  court-house  is  still  his  theater. 

The  old  man  walked  down  the  road  with  me,  but  he 
stopped  before  we  reached  the  place  where  Stuart  had 
been  stretched  upon  the  ground. 

"Well,"  he  said,  turning  back,  "I  reckon  to-day'll  finish 
it.  At  least  they'll  give  it  to  the  jury  and  it  oughten't  to 
take  'em  long  after  what  the  judge  says  in  his  charge  to 
'em.  I  feel  that  it's  goin'  to  be  all  right.  Don't  you?" 

The  truth  was  that  I  did  not,  but  kindness  is  not  always 
the  truth ;  so  I  said :  "  Every  thing  looks  that  way.  Conk- 
wright  is  as  sharp  as  a  thorn  and  he'll  be  in  their  flesh 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end." 

"By  jings,  jest  say  that  again.  That  ought  to  settle  it 
right  now,  hah?  Stay  with  'em  till  they  git  through,  and 
you'll  find  us  waitin'  for  you  when  you  git  back." 

I  nodded,  waved  my  hand  at  him  and  galloped  away, 
and  from  a  hill-top  I  looked  back  and  saw  him  still  stand 
ing  there  in  the  road.  Parker  caught  up  with  me  and  we 
in  turn  overtook  a  man  whom  I  did  not  care  to  encounter 
— Etheredge.  I  had  seen  him  every  day  during  the  trial, 
had  caught  his  blurred  eye  as  I  was  giving  my  testimony 
on  the  stand,  had  heard  him  tell  his  damaging  story. 

"Ho,  there,"  he  said,  as  I  was  about  to  pass  him. 
''Haven't  forgotten  me,  have  you?" 

"My  memory  is  unfortunately  so  good  that  k  retains 


184  THE  JUCKL1NS 

many  objectionable  things,"  I  answered. 

"Glad  to  hear  it;  pleased  to  know  that  you  haven't  for 
gotten  our  little  engagement." 

He  rode  along  with  me.  The  way  was  just  broad  enough 
for  two  horses  abreast,  and  the  deputy  dropped  back. 
"We  need  not  wait  for  the  termination  of  the  trial/'  I  re 
plied. 

"That  so?  Strikes  me  that  you  are  pretty  keen,  espe 
cially  as  there  is  an  officer  right  behind  you.  Say,  you 
seem  to  blame  me  for  the  interest  I  am  taking  in  this  affair. 
Have  you  stopped  to  think  of  the  interest  you  are  taking  in 
it?  Jucklin's  no  relation  of  yours  and  probably  never  will 
be.  Did  you  hear  what  I  said?  Probably  never  will  be." 

"Unfortunately  I  haven't  an  apple  tree  sprout  with  me 
to-day,  Mr.  Etheredge." 

"And  it's  a  good  thing  for  you  that  you  haven't.  Do 
you  reckon  I'd  let  you  lash  at  me  while  so  many  people  are 
riding  along  the  road?" 

"I  don't  suppose  you  would  let  me  do  so  at  any  time  if 
you  could  help  yourself." 

"Oh,  I  don't  know.  Might  let  you  amuse  yourself  if 
there  were  no  one  in  sight.  But  I've  got  nothing  against 
you,  young  man.  I've  lived  long  enough  to  forgive  an 
over-grown  boy's  impulses." 

He  could  not  have  cut  me  deeper;  and  his  sleepy  old 
eyes  saw  the  blood  and  he  laughed.  "Got  under  your  hide 
a  little  that  time,  eh?  We've  all  got  a  thin  place  some 
where  in  our  skin,  you  know.  You  needn't  look  back;  the 


THE  JUCKLINS  186 

officer  is  right  behind  us." 

"I  wish  he  were  not  in  sight,"  I  replied. 

"You  don't  like  him,  eh?  Why,  I  always  thought  he 
was  a  pretty  good  fellow.  But,  of  course,  I  am  willing  to 
accept  your  judgment  of  him.  But  if  you  don't  like  him 
why  do  you  wait  for  him  to  come  up?" 

"I  am  waiting  for  you  to  go  on,  sir,"  I  replied.  "And  if 
you  don't  I  will  knock  you  off  that  horse." 

"Very  well.  I  see  a  man  on  ahead  who  is  doubtless  better 
company.  I  trust,  though,  that  I  shall  have  the  pleasure 
of  a  closer  association  with  you  at  some  future  time. 
Good-morning." 

I  waited  until  Parker  came  up.  "Did  you  get  enough 
of  him?"  he  asked,  laughing.  "I  knew  you  would — nearly 
everybody  does.  Under  the  circumstances  it  was  an  insult 
for  him  to  offer  to  ride  with  you." 

"And  he  and  I  will  have  a  trouble  as  soon  as  this  one 
is  settled,"  I  replied. 

"Oh,  I  reckon  not.  I  don't  see  why  any  man  of  sense 
should  want  to  have  trouble  with  you.  Just  look  how 
they  are  flocking  to  town.  Hope  they'll  turn  out  this  way 
and  vote  for  me  at  the  next  election  for  sheriff.  Women, 
too.  See  them  coming  out  of  that  gate?" 

When  we  rode  into  the  town  the  streets  were  thronged 
and  horsemen,  wagons  and  buggies  were  thick  on  the 
public  square.  The  ginger  cake  and  cider  vender  was 
there,  with  his  stand  near  the  court-house  steps,  and  the 
neigh  of  the  colt  and  the  distressful  answer  of  his  mother, 


186  THE  JUCKLINS 

tied  to  the  rack,  echoed  throughout  the  town.  Dogs,  meet 
ing  one  another  for  the  first  time,  decided  in  their  know 
ing  way  that  they  were  enemies,  but  suddenly  became  allies 
in  a  yelping  chase  after  one  of  their  kind  that  came  down 
the  street  with  a  tin  can  tied  to  his  tail. 

I  went  at  once  to  Conkwright's  office  and  found  him 
with  his  feet  on  a  table,  contentedly  smoking  a  cob  pipe. 

"I  was  just  thinking  over  some  points  that  I  want  to 
make,"  he  remarked  as  I  entered. 

"And  I  hope,  sir,  that  you  are  in  the  proper  humor  to 
make  them." 

"Can't  tell  about  that.  Oratory  is  as  stealthy  and  as 
illusive  as  a  weazel  at  night.  You  never  know  when  he's 
coming." 

"But  do  you  feel  well?"  I  anxiously  inquired. 

"Oh,  feel  first-rate,  but  that  doesn't  make  any  particular 
difference.  Sometimes  a  man  may  think  that  he  feels 
well,  but  when  he  gets  up  to  speak  he  finds  that  he  is 
simply  sluggish.  Reckon  I'll  get  through  all  right.  Do 
the  best  I  can,  any  way,  and  if  I  fail  it  can't  be  helped. 
Guess  we'd  better  go  over." 

An  anxious  day  that  was  for  me.  I  looked  at  Alf,  now 
beginning  to  grow  pale  under  his  imprisonment,  and  I 
saw  his  resentment  rise  and  fall  as  the  state's  attorney  pic 
tured  him,  waiting,  listening  with  eagerness  for  the  sound 
of  a  horse's  hoofs.  I  was  to  be  a  lawyer,  to  defend  men 
and  to  prosecute  them  for  money,  and  yet  I  wondered  how 
that  bright  young  fellow,  with  the  seeming  passion  of  an 


THE  JUOKLINS  18* 

honest  outcry,  could  stand  there  and  tell  the  jury  that  my 
friend  had  committed  the  foulest  murder  that  had  ever 
reddened  the  criminal  annals  of  his  state.  Old  man  Conk- 
wright  sat,  twirling  his  thumbs,  and  occasionally  he  would 
nod  at  the  jurymen  as  if  to  call  their  attention  to  a  rank 
absurdity.  But  I  did  not  see  how  he  could  offset  the  evi 
dence  and  the  blazing  sentences  of  that  impassioned  prose 
cutor.  At  last  Conkwright's  time  had  come,  and  when  he 
arose  and  uttered  his  first  word  I  felt  the  chill  of  a  dis 
appointment  creeping  over  me.  He  was  slow  and  his  ut 
terance  was  as  cold  as  if  it  had  issued  from  a  frost-bitten 
mouth.  I  went  out  and  walked  round  the  town,  to  the 
livery-stable,  where  a  negro  was  humming  a  tune  as  he 
washed  a  horse's  back ;  to  the  drug-store,  where  a  doctor 
was  dressing  a  brick-bat  wound  in  a  drunken  man's  scalp 
—I  walked  out  to  the  edge  of  the  town,  where  the  farming 
land  lay,  and  then  I  turned  back.  I  was  thinking  of  my 
return  home,  of  the  sorrow  that  I  should  take  with  me, 
of  those  old  people — of  Guinea. 

Some  one  called  me,  and  facing  about  I  recognized  the 
telegraph  operator  coming  across  a  lot.  "Glad  to  see 
you,"  he  said,  coming  up  and  holding  out  his  hand. 
"Didn't  hear  about  her,  did  you?" 

"Hear  about  whom?"  I  asked,  not  pi  :ased  that  he  should 
have  broken  in  upon  my  sorrowful  m  :ditation. 

"Mrs.  McHenry." 

"No,  I've  heard  nothing.    What  ah  out  her?" 

"Why,  there's  everything  about  her.    She's  my  wife— 


188  THE  JUCKLINS  ' 

married  night  before  last.  Know  that  piece  of  calico  I 
pointed  out  that  day,  the  time  I  said  I  had  to  be  mighty 
careful  ?  Well,  she's  it.  I'll  walk  on  up  with  you.  Run  it 
down — run  in  panting,  you  might  say.  Said  I  had  to  have 
her  and  she  shied  at  first,  but  that  didn't  make  any  differ 
ence,  for  I  was  there  three  times  a  day  till  she  saw  it  wasn't 
any  use  to  shy  any  longer;  so  she  gave  in  and  I  caught 
the  first  preacher  that  happened  to  be  hanging  around  and 
he  soon  pronounced  us  one  and  the  same  kind — something 
of  the  same  sort.  Go  right  down1  that  street  and  you'll  see 
calico  on  my  clothes  line  most  any  time.  Say,  it  will  be 
a  pity  if  they  hang  that  young  fellow.  And  I'll  tell  you 
what  I'll  do.  If  they  send  anything  off  to  any  of  the  news 
papers  I'll  spell  his  name  wrong.  Get  even  with  them  some 
way,  won't  we?  Yonder  comes  my  boy  and  I  reckon 
there's  a  call  for  me  at  the  office.  They  are  rushing  me 
now — seems  to  be  the  busy  season.  I've  been  to  the  office 
twice  already  to-day." 

Long  before  I  reached  the  court-house  I  heard  old 
Conkwright  bellowing  at  the  jury.  The  windows  were 
full  of  people  and  outside  men  were  standing  upon  boxes, 
straining  to  see  the  old  fellow  in  his  mighty  tirade.  I  could 
not  get  into  the  room,  but  I  squeezed  my  way  to  the  door 
and  stood  there,  with  my  blood  leaping.  Now  I  could  see 
why  they  had  called  him  powerful.  His  face  was  aglow, 
his  gray  hair  was  upon  end  and  his  eyes  were  shooting 
darts  at  the  jury.  I  know  not  how  long  he  spoke,  but  I 
know  that  suddenly  he  was  silent,  looking  upward,  and 


THE  JUCKLINS  189 

then,  spreading  his  hands  over  the  jury,  said :  "May  God 
in  his  infinite  mercy  influence  your  decision."  He  sat 
down,  and  I  noticed  then  that  the  air  was  cooler  with  a 
breeze  that  sprang  up  when  the  sun  had  set.  The  state's 
attorney  made  a  few  remarks,  and  then  the  judge  de 
livered  his  charge  to  the  jury,  an  address  short,  but 
earnest  Now  there  was  a  shoving  and  a  crush — the  jury 
men  were  filing  out.  I  saw  them  leading  Alf  back  to  the 
jail,  but  I  did  not  go  to  him,  so  pulled  and  hauled  I  was 
by  hope  and  fear.  But  I  made  my  way  to  the  old  lawyer, 
and  asked  him  what  he  thought. 

"I  don't  know,"  he  answered.  "Don't  you  see  the  dis 
position  there  is  to  rush  everything?  I  don't  think  they 
will  be  out  long." 

"You  made  a  great  speech,  sir." 

"Wasn't  bad,  considering  the  material.  We  were  at  a 
disadvantage.  He  stood  there  in  the  road,  you  know,  and 
that  is  a  hard  thing  to  get  round." 

"But  the  judge  must  have  felt  your  speech." 

"Why,  my  son,  I  don't  suppose  he  heard  it." 

I  went  away  and  again  I  walked  about  the  town.  It  was 
dusk  and  the  tavern  bell  was  ringing.  On  the  court-house 
steps  and  on  the  public  square  men  were  discussing  the 
trial  and  venturing  their  opinions  as  to  the  result.  I  heard 
one  man  say:  "The  old  soldier  made  a  great  fight,  but 
the  odds  were  against  him.  Bet  ten  dollars  they  find  him 
guilty." 

"There's  his  friend  over  the.e,"  another  man  spoke  up. 


190  THE  JUCKLItfS 

"Don't  talk  so  loud  » 

"Can't  help  who's  there  listening;  money's  here  talkin'. 
Any  takers?" 

Not  far  away  there  was  a  wooden  bridge  over  a  small 
stream  and  thither  I  went  and  leaned  upon  the  rail,  listen 
ing  to,  the  murmur  of  the  water.  I  thought  that  this  must 
be  the  brook  that  rippled  past  our  house,  and  I  went  down 
to  the  water's  edge  and  bathed  my  aching  head.  Then  I 
remembered  that  I  had  eaten  nothing  since  early  morning, 
and  I  thought  that  I  would  better  go  to  the  tavern,  and 
was  turning  away  when  I  heard  some  one  cry:  "The  jury 
is  in  and  court  has  met  again!"  I  scrambled  up  and 
hastened  toward  the  court-house,  and  at  the  steps  I  met 
a  number  of  men  coming  out.  "It's  all  over,"  one  of  them 
said  to  me.  "Imprisonment  for  life.  Conkwright  has 
moved  for  a  new  trial  and  the  judge  has  granted  it." 

I  hastened  to  the  jail,  whither  they  had  taken  Alf.  I 
found  him  seated  on  his  bed.  He  got  up  when  he  saw 
me. 

"Bill,"  he  said,  in  a  voice  low  and  steady,  "I  am  not 
going  to  the  penitentiary  if  you  are  my  friend." 

"And  you  know  that  I  am,  Alf." 

"Then  you  will  lend  me  your  knife." 

"No,  Alf,  I  can't  do  that — not  now.  Remember  that 
we  have  another  chance." 

"I  don't  mean  now — I  mean  if  that  last  chance  fails. 
Now  I  want  you  to  do  something  for  me.  You  tell  father 
that  he  must  sell  his  farm  immediately  and  leave  here.  Tell 


THE  JUCIfcuIflS  191 

him  that  I'll  hate  him  if  he  doesn't  do  as  I  say.  You  can 
stay  here  and  write  to  him,  and  if  I  don't  come  out  at  the 
next  trial,  all  right,  and  if  I  do,  I  can  go  to  him.  It  may 
seem  hard,  but  he's  got  to  do  it.  He  wouldn't  live  here, 
any  way.  Will  you  do  it?" 

"I  will,  for  I  don't  know  but  it  is  a  good  plan.  No,  he 
wouldn't  live  here.  He  will  do  as  you  request." 

"Well,  go  on  home  now  and  rest  Hanged  if  you  don't 
look  as  if  you've  been  on  trial  for  your  life,"  he  added, 
laughing.  'Tell  him  that  I'm  not  crushed — that  it  has 
come  out  better  than  I  expected." 

The  night  was  dark,  the  road  was  desolate,  and  I  heard 
the  lonesome  lowing  of  the  cattle.  And  now  and  then  a 
horseman  passed  me,  for  I  was  not  eager  to  get  home.  At 
a  gate  near  the  road-side  some  one  was  standing  with  a 
lantern,  and  just  behind  me  came  the  rattle  of  an  old 
vehicle.  I  turned  aside  to  let  it  pass,  and  as  I  did  the  light 
of  the  lantern  fell  upon  me  and  a  voice  asked:  "That  you, 
Mr.  Hawes?" 

"Yes,"  I  answered,  turning  back  into  the  road  and  fol 
lowing  a  buggy. 

"I  'lowed  so,"  said  a  man  in  the  buggy,  "for  we  don't 
grow  many  of  your  size  about  here.  I  have  heard  that 
they  used  to,  but  they  don't  now.  Good  many  things 
have  happened  since  that  day  you  come  over  to  see  me 
about  the  school.  I'm  Perdue.  And,  by  the  way,  there's 
a  hundred  dollars  at  my  house  waitin'  for  you  mA  if  you 
don't  come  after  it  I'll  send  it  over.'" 


{92  THE  JUCKLINS 

"But  you  don't  owe  me  anything  yet,"  I  replied. 

"Yes,  the  money's  there  and  it's  yourn.  You  couldn't 
help  not  bein'  in  a  fix  to  teach.  As  I  say,  it's  there  for  you, 
and  you  might  as  well  have  it.  Sorry  for  the  old  folks, 
tell  'em,  but  it  can't  be  helped." 

On  he  drove,  shouting  back  that  he  would  send  the 
money  the  next  day,  and  my  protest,  if,  indeed,  I  entered 
one,  was  weak  and  faltering,  fo:  of  all  men  in  that  neigh 
borhood  I  thought  that  I  stood  most  in  need  of  a  hundred 
dollars. 

Now  1  was  nearing  the  house.  The  hour  was  late,  but 
a  light  was  burning  in  the  sitting-room.  No  one  came 
out,  though  my  horse's  hoofs  fell  hard  enough  upon  the 
stones  to  tell  them  of  my  coming;  and  when  I  got  down 
at  the  gate  1  found  a  horse  tied  to  the  fence.  Some  person, 
eager  to  bear  evil  tidings,  had  forestalled  me.  I  led  my 
horse  to  the  stable,  went  to  the  house,  and  had  just  stepped 
into  the  passage  when  Parker,  the  deputy  sheriff,  came 
out  of  the  sitting-room.  "I  thought  you'd  go  on  back 
to  the  jail  to  stay  a  while,  so  I  came  on  over  to  tell  them. 
No  trouble,  you  know — only  a  short  distance  out  of  my 
way/' 

All  within  was  silent.  I  stepped  inside.  The  old  man 
was  standing  with  his  back  to  the  fire-place;  the  old 
woman  sat  with  her  book  in  her  lap  and  Guinea  stood  at 
the  window,  looking  out  into  the  darkness.  I  sat  down 
in  silence,  for  I  knew  not  what  to  say,  and  in  silence  for 
a  time  we  remained.  The  old  woman  sobbed,  clutching 


THE  JUCKLINS  193 

more  tightly  her  book,  and  the  old  man  looked  at  her 
sharply  and  then  almost  flung  himself  out  of  the  room. 
And  a  few  moments  later  I  heard  him  shouting:  "Hike, 
there,  Sam!  Hike,  there,  Bob!  There's  plenty  of  light; 
you've  got  three  lanterns.  Hike,  there !  To  a  finish,  to  a 
finish!" 

"Mrs.  Jucklin,  it  is  no  time  for  despair,"  I  said,  and 
Guinea  turned  from  the  window.  "We  have  already  se 
cured  a  new  trial,  and  the  next  time  it  will  surely  go  in  our 
favor.  That  is  the  history  of  nearly  all  such  cases.  Be 
strong  just  a  little  while  longer.  You  have  been  our  prop, 
and  now  you  must  not  let  us  fall." 

She  arose  and  with  an  old-time  courtesy  bowed  to  me, 
and  Guinea  came  forward  and  held  out  her  hand,  and  she 
must  have  seen  a  sudden  light  leap  into  my  eyes,  for  she 
said:  "I  am  Alf's  sister  and  yours,  too." 

This  came  as  a  repulse  to  my  heart's  eager  yearning: 
no  sister's  confidences  could  answer  the  call  that  my  nature 
was  shouting  to  her.  But  I  gulped  down  a  rising  sore 
ness  of  the  heart  and  I  said:  "I  thank  you." 

The  old  man,  with  heavy  tread,  strode  into  the  room. 
"It  was  to  a  finish/'  he  whispered.  His  hands  were  cov 
ered  with  blood.  "It  was  to  a  finish,  and  they  are  both 
dead." 

There  was  a  sharp  rap  at  the  door.  Guinea  opened  it 
and  in  came  the  old  General.  "Mr.  Jucklin,  can  I  speak  to 
you  in  private?"  he  asked,  bowing  to  the  women. 

"No.    What  you've  got  to  say,  out  with  it  here." 


m  THE  JUCKL1NS 

"I  would  rather  say  it  in  private.  Why,  what's  the  mat 
ter  with  your  hands?" 

"It  was  to  a  finish,  sir,  and  let  what  you  say  be  to  a 
finish,  even  if  it  is  three  times  as  bloody." 

"Oh,  I  have  come  out  of  no  hard  feelings,  sir.  Ladies, 
would  you  and  our  friend,  Mr.  Hawes,  mind  retiring?" 

'They  are  goin'  to  stay  here,  sir,"  the  old  man  replied, 
rolling  up  his  sleeves. 

"All  right,  just  as  you  will,  sir.  Mr.  Jucklin,  years  ago 
we  entered  into  an  arrangement — 

"And  I  have  cursed  myself  ever  since!"  the  old  man 
exclaimed. 

"Just  wait  until  I  get  through,  if  you  please.  We  en 
tered  into  an  arrangement,  prompted  by  a  boy's  fancy  and 
warmed  by  a  father's  over  indulgence.  I  know  that  this  is 
a  sore  time  to  come  to  you,  and  I  don't  want  to  appear 
unkind,  for  my  aim  is  tender,  though  my  determination 
is  just.  Young  hearts  may  whisper  to  each  other,  and  that 
whispering  may  be  music,  sir;  but  in  this  life  there  are 
duties  too  stern  to  be  melted  and  turned  aside  by  a  melody. 
And,  sir,  one/  of  the  most  sacred  duties  that  can  fall  to  the 
trust  of  a  man  is  to  see  that  the  family  name,  which  is  to 
survive  after  he  has  folded  his  hands  in  eternal  stillness — 
pardon  my  devious  methods,  for  I  assure  you  that  my 
windings  proceed  from  a  kindness  of  heart — I  say  that  my 
duty  now  is  to  those  who  may  bear  my  name  in  the  fu 
ture.  I  trust  that  I  am  now  sufficiently  started  to  speak 
plainly,  I  don't  doubt  the  real  worth  and  sterling  in  teg- 


THE  JUCKLINS  19ft 

city  of  your  stock,  Mr.  Jucklin,  but  an  agreement  that  we 
once  made  must  be  set  aside." 

He  stood  with  his  broad  hat  in  his  hand  and  out  of  it  he 
grabbled  a  handkerchief  and  wiped  his  fare.  Old  Lim 
gazed  steadily  at  him.  "My  words  sound  cold  and  formal," 
the  General  continued,  "and  I  wish  that  they  might  be 
warmer  and  more  at  ease,  but  in  vain  have  I  tempered 
with  them.  The  short  of  it  all  is,  and  I  have  striven  not 
to  say  it  bluntly — is  that  the  engagement  which  has  held 
us  in  prospective  relationship  is  hereby  broken;  but  by 
this  I  do  not  mean  that  your  son  is  guilty  of  murder,  for 
in  his  heart  he  may  see  himself  justified,  but  a  decision  of 
court  has — and  I  wish  I  could  find  a  softer  means  of  say 
ing  it — court  has  pronounced  him  guilty,  and  that  places 
the  marriage  out  of  the  question.  Bear  with  me  just  a 
moment  more,  for  I  assure  you  that  I  am'  suffering  keenly 
with  you,  that  my  heart  is  in  sorrowful  unison  with  your 
own.  Family  pride  may  be  regarded  a  hobby  in  this  day 
when  refinement  and  respectability  are  sneered  at,  but  it 
is  a  virtuous  hobby,  and  I  have  held  it  so  long  that  I  can 
not  put  it  down.  And  now,  in  so  far  as  there  is  any  ques 
tion  of  a  financial  obligation,  we  will  turn  our  backs  upon 
it  and  forget  that  it  ever  existed." 

He  put  his  handkerchief  into  his  hat,  changed  his  hat  to 
his  other  hand  and  stood  looking  at  Jucklin ;  and  I  had  ex 
pected  to  see  the  old  man  leap  off  the  floor  in  a  rage,  but 
I  cannot  recall  ever  having  seen  a  cooler  show  of  indiffer 
ent,  "T  put  gaffs  on  'em  early  this  mornin'  an'  k^ot  *em 


196  *EHE  JWELINS 

waitin'  for  the  finish,  and  when  it  come  it  come  soon,"  he 
said. 

"Mr.  Jucklin,  I  had  hoped  to  make  myself  sufficiently 
clear.  I  have  come,  sir,  to  break  the  engagement  that 
was  foolishly  arranged  by  us  to  bind  your  daughter  and 
my  son." 

"Bob  died  first,  but  Sam  could  jest  stagger,  and  he  flut 
tered  against  me  and  covered  my  hands  with  his  blood; 
and  I  must  apologize  for  not  washin'  'em,  but  it  is  not  too 
late  to  make  some  sort  of  amends.  I  will  wipe  'em  on  your 
jaws,  sir!" 

He  sprang  forward,  but  I  caught  him.  "You  must  be 
perfectly  cool  and  perfectly  sensible,  Mr.  Jucklin,"  I  said, 
sis  quickly  as  I  could,  holding  him.  "Remember  that  he  is 
in  your  house."  « 

And  this  quieted  him.  Even  the  most  pronounced  back 
woodsman  in  the  South  is  sometimes  graced  with  a  sud 
den  and  almost  marvelous  courtesy,  the  unconscious  re 
vival  of  a  long  lost  dignity;  and  this  came  upon  the 
old  man,  and,  bowing  low,  he  said: 

"I  humbly  beg  your  pardon,  sir." 

"And  I  should  be  a  brute  not  to  grant  it,"  the  General 
replied,  bowing  in  turn.  "But  I  hope  that  reason  rather 
than  the  fact  of  my  being  under  your  roof  will  govern 
your  conduct." 

During  this  time,  and,  indeed,  from  the  moment  whe^n 
the  General  had  entered  the  room,  Guinea  stood  beside  the 
rocking-chair  in  which  her  mother  was  seated;  no  change 


THE  JUCKLINS  197 

had  come  over  her  countenance,  but  with  one  hand  rest 
ing  on  the  back  of  the  chair  she  had  remained  motionless, 
with  the  exception  that  she  placed  her  hand  on  her 
mother's  head  at  the  moment  when  I  caught  the  old  man 
in  my  arms.  I  saw  this,  though  her  motion  was  swift,  for 
I  was  looking  at  her  rather  than  at  her  father.  And  now 
the  General  turned  to  the  girl. 

"My  dear,"  he  said.  She  frowned  slightly,  but  her  lips 
parted  with  a  cold  smile  that  came  out  of  her  heart. 

"My  dear  child,  it  is  hard  for  me  to  say  this  to  you,  for 
I  feel  that  you  can  but  regard  me  a  feelingless  monster 
that  would  rend  an  innocent  and  loving  heart,  and  God 
knows  that  I  now  beg  your  forgiveness,  but  in  this  life 
cruel  things  must  be  done,  done  that  those  who  come  after 
us  may  feel  no  sting  of  reproach  cast  by  an  exacting  so 
ciety.  I  am  an  old  man,  my  dear,  and  shall  soon  be  taken 
to  the  burial  ground  where  my  fathers  sleep  in  honor. 
They  left  me  a  proud  name  and  I  must  not  soil  it.  The 
oldest  stone  there  is  above  a  breast  that  braved  old  Crom 
well's  pikemen — tfie  noble  heart  of  a  cavalier  beat  in  that 
bosom — and  can  you  ask " 

"I  have  asked  nothing,  General." 

"You  are  a  noble  young  woman." 

"But  your  son  will  come  to  me  and  kneel  at  my  feet." 

A  flush  flew  over  the  General's  face.  "No,  it  is  with  his 
full  consent  that  I  have  come.  Indeed,  I  would  have  put 
off  my  coming  until  a  more  befitting  day,  but  he  knew  his 
duty  and  bade  me  do  mine." 


138  THE  JUCKLINS 

"He  will  kneel  at  my  feet,"  she  said;  and  he  had  not  re 
plied  when  we  heard  footsteps  in  the  passage — wild  foot 
steps.  There  was  a  moment  of  sharp  clicking  at  the  door 
latch,  as  if  a  nervous  hand  had  touched  it,  and  then 
Millie  broke  into  the  room.  Her  face  was  white,  her  hair 
hung  about  her  shoulders. 

"You  have  kept  me  away !"  she  cried,  stamping  her  feet 
and  frowning  at  her  father.  "Yes,  you  have  kept  me  away, 
but  I  have  come  and  I  hate  you." 

The  old  General  was  stupefied.  "You  may  tell  your 
cold-blooded  son  what  to  do,"  she  went  on,  "but  my  heart 
is  my  own.  He  asked  me  to  marry  him  and  I  will — I  will 
break  into  the  penitentiary  and  marry  him.  And  you 
would  have  had  me  marry  Dan  Stuart.  Just  before  he 
was  killed  he  told  me  he  would  kill  Alf  if  I  said  I  loved 
him.  I  will  go  to  the  jail  and  marry  him  there." 

She  ran  to  Guinea,  and  they  put  their  arms  about  each 
other  and  wept;  and  the  old  woman  pressed  her  book  to  her 
bosom  and  sobbed  over  it.  Through  old  Lim's  wire-like 
beard  a  smile,  hard  and  cynical,  was  creeping  out,  and  the 
General  was  fiercely  struggling  with  himself.  He  had 
bitten  his  lip  until  his  mouth  was  reddening  with  blood. 

"Come,  you  are  going  home  with  me,"  he  said. 

"I  am  not!"  his  daughter  cried,  with  her  arms  tight  about 
Guinea.  "I  am  not;  I  am  going  to  the  jail." 

"Then  I  will  take  you  home." 

"Don't  touch  me!"  she  cried,  shrinking  back  into  a 
corner.  "Don't  touch  me,  for  I  am  almost  mad.  What 


THE  JUCKLINS  199 

do  I  care  for  your  pride?  What  do  I  care  for  the  old  grave 
yard?  You  have  tried  to  break  my  heart,  but  I  will  marry 
him.  He  is  worth  ten  thousand  such  men  as  your  cold 
blooded  son.  Don't  you  touch  me,  father.  Mr.  Hawes!" 
she  screamed,  "don't  let  him  touch  me." 

The  old  General  had  stepped  forward  as  if  to  lay 
hands  upon  her,  but  he  stepped  back,  bowed  and  said: 
"You  are  a  lady  and  I  am  a  gentleman,  and  these  facts 
protect  you  from  violence  at  my  hands,  but  I  here  de 
nounce  you — no,  I  don't,  my  daughter.  I  cannot  de 
nounce  my  own  flesh  and  blood.  I  will  leave  you  here 
to-night,  hoping  that  when  this  fit  of  passion  is  over  reason 
will  lead  you  home.  Good-night." 


THE  JUCKLIffS 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Long  we  sat  there  in  a  calm,  after  the  General  left  us; 
and  the  two  girls,  on  a  bench  in  a  corner,  whispered  to 
each  other.  How  wild  had  been  my  guessing  at  the  char 
acter  of  Millie !  How  could'  one  so  shy,  so  gentle,  so  fond 
of  showing  her  dimples,  cast  off  all  timidity  and  set  herself 
in  opposition  to  her  father's  authority  and  pride?  I  could 
but  argue  that  she  was  wrong,  that  she  had  forgotten  hei 
duty,  thus  to  stand  out  and  violently  defy  him,  and  yef 
I  admired  her  for  the  spirit  she  had  shown.  And  I  be 
lieved  that  Guinea  was  just  as  determined,  just  as  passion 
ate.  But  she  was  wiser. 

I  told  the  old  man  what  Alf  had  requested  me  to  tell 
him,  that  he  must  sell  his  farm  and  go  away,  and  he  re 
plied  that  he  would.  "I  don't  think,  though,  that  I  can  get 
very  much  for  it.  Parker's  land  joins  mine,  and  may  be 
I  can  strike  a  trade  with  him.  Of  course,  I  don't  want  to 
live  here  any  longer,  for  no  matter  what  may  come  now 
we've  got  the  name.  Susan,  I  never  saw  a  woman  behave 
better  than  you  have  to-night.  The  old  stock — and  I'm 
with  the  book  from  kiver  to  kiver.  And  now,  Millie,  let 
me  say  a  word  to  you.  Of  course,  I  know  exactly  how  y\Su 
feel,  and  all  that — how  that  you  couldn't  help  yourseJV  * 


THE  JUCKLiNS  801 

but  to-morrow  mornin'  after  breakfast  I  would,  if  I  was 
in  your  place,  go  right  home  and  ask  my  father's  forgive 
ness,  I  say  if  I  was  in  your  place,  for  if  you  do  you  won't 
have  half  so  much  to  'be  sorry  for,  and  in  this  life  I  hold 
that  we're  doin'  our  best  when  we  do  the  fewest  things  to 
regret  What  do  you  think?" 

"I'm  sorry  I  talked  that  way,  and  he's  getting  old,  too. 
But  I  had  a  cause.  He  made  me  stay  in  the  house,  and 
he  ought  to  remember  that  I  am  of  the  same  blood  he  is 
and  that  it's  awful  to  be  humiliated.  But  there's  one  thing 
I'm  going  to  do.  When  Alf's  tried  again,  I'm  going  to  tell 
them  what  Stuart  said.  I  would  have  done  it  this  time, 
but  I  was  ashamed  to  say  anything  about  it.  I  have  been 
nearly  crazy,  but  I'm  awfully  sorry  that  I  talked  that 
way.  And,  oh,  suppose  he  were  to  die  to-night?  I  never 
could  forgive  myself.  I  must  go  home  now,  Mr.  Jucklin. 
Yes,  I  can't  stay  another  minute.  You'll  go  with  me, 
won't  you,  Mr.  Hawes?" 

"I  will  gladly  do  so,"  I  answered. 

"And  I  will  go,  too/7  said  Guinea. 

We  took  a  lantern,  but  the  night  was  so  dark  that  we 
went  round  by  the  road,  rather  than  over  the  meadows. 
Millie  said  that  she  scarcely  remembered  how  she  had 
come,  but  she  thought  that  she  had  run  the*  most  of  the 
way.  And  over  and  over  as  we  walked  along  she  repeated: 
""'I'm  awfully  sorry." 

As  we  came  out  of  the  woods,  where  the  road  bent  in 
toward  the  big  gate,  we  saw  a  light  burning  in  the  library. 


.08  THE  JUCKL1NS 

Millie  stopped  suddenly  and  clutched  my  arm.  "Suppose 
he  won't  let  me  come  back?"  she  said.  "I  don't  know  in 
what  sort  of  a  humor  I  may  find  him.  Mr.  Hawes,  you  go 
on  and  see  him  first,  please?" 

"And  I  will  wait  out  here,"  Guinea  spoke  up,  and  her 
voice  trembled.  "Of  course,  I  can't  go  into  the  house 
after  what  has  happened.  Nobody  must  know  that  I  am 
here." 

I  left  them  standing  in  the  dark,  and  when  I  stepped 
upon  the  porch  I  heard  some  one  walking  heavily  and 
slowly  up  and  down  the  library.  On  the  door  was  a  brass 
knocker,  and  when  I  raised  it  and  let  it  fall,  the  foot-steps 
came  hastily  to  the  door.  A  hanging  lamp  was  burning 
in  the  hall,  and  I  saw  that  the  old  General  himself  had 
opened  the  door. 

'•'Oh,  it's  you  Mr.  Hawes.  I  couldn't  tell  at  first.  My 
old  eyes  are  getting  flat,  sir.  Step  into  the  library." 

"No,  I  thank  you.    I  have  but  a  moment  to  stay." 

"Step  in,  sir,"  he  insisted,  almost  commanded,  and  I 
obeyed.  Chyd  was  under  a  lamp,  reading  a  sheep-skin 
covered  book.  He  looked  up  as  I  entered,  nodded,  and 
then  resumed  his  reading. 

"Sit  clown,"  said  the  General. 

"No,  I  thank  you,  for,  as  I  say,  I  have  but  a  moment  to 
remain.  Your  daughter  is  exceedingly  sorry  that  she 
acted " 

"Where  is  she,  sir?" 

"She  has  come  with  me,  but  fearing  that  your  resent- 


THE  JUCKLINS  203 

ment * 

"What,  is  she  out  there  waiting  in  the  dark?  What,  my 
child  out  there  waiting  to  know  whether  she  can  come  into 
her  father's  house?  I  will  go  to  her,  sir.  Come,  Chyd,  let 
us  both  go." 

I  stepped  to  the  door  and  stood  confronting  the  old  man 
and  his  son. 

"You  can  go,  General,  if  you  will,  but  your  son  must 
remain  where  he  is." 

"What,  I  don't  understand  you,  sir.  How  dare  you — 
what  do  you  mean,  sir?" 

"Your  son  must  not  come  with  us.  That  is  what  I 
mean." 

"Not  go  to  welcome  his  sister  home.  Get  out  of  my 
way,  sir!" 

"Wait,  General.  He  should  not  go  out  there,  for  the 
reason  that  some  one  else,  out  of  kindness,  has  accom 
panied  your  daughter  and  me." 

"Ah,  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  the  old  man,  bowing. 
"Chyd,  stay  where  you  are." 

Millie  was  inside  the  yard,  but  Guinea  was  in  the  road, 
standing  at  the  gate.  "Come,  my  child!"  the  old  man 
called.  Millie  ran  to  him  and  he  took  her  in  his  arms. 
And  he  lifted  her  off  the  ground,  slight  creature  that  she 
was,  and  carried  her  up  the  steps. 

Guinea  took  my  arm  and  homeward  we  went,  and  not 
a  word  was  spoken  until  we  entered  the  dark  woods. 

"You  saw  Chyd?"  she  said. 


204  THE  JUCKLINS 

"Yes,  and  the  old  gentleman  wanted  him  to  come  out." 

rTo  kneel  at  my  feet  so  soon?" 

"No,  to  welcome  his  sister.  Are  you  so  anxious  for  the 
time  to  come?" 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  without  hesitation. 

"And  is  it  because  you  love  him?"  I  asked  bitterly. 

"You  and  I  are  to  be  the  best  of  friends,  Mr.  Hawes,  and 
you  must  not  reproach  me." 

"Forgive  me  if  I  have  hurt  you,"  I  said,  stupidly. 

"But  you  must  not  keep  on  wounding  me  merely  to  be 
forgiven.  I  said  that  he  would  kneel  at  my  feet,  and  this 
may  sound  foolish  to  you,  but  he  will.  How  do  I  know? 
I  feel  it;  I  don't  know  why,  buC~  I  do.  And  we  are  to  leave 
the  old  home  if  father  can  sell  the  land.  It's  better  to  go, 
but  it  will  be  still  better  to  come  back,  and  we  will.  Do 
you  think  that  I  am  merely  a  simple  girl  without  ambi 
tion?  I  am  not;  I  dream." 

"I  know  that  you  are  a  noble  woman." 

"Oh,  don't  flatter  me  now.  It's  first  reproach,  and 
then  flattery.  But  have  you  thought  of  the  real  nobility  of 
some  one  else — yourself?" 

I  strove  to  laugh,  but  I  know  that  it  must  have  been  a 
miserable  croak.  "I  have  done  nothing  to  merit  that 
opinion,"  I  replied. 

"Oh,  it  is  a  part  of  your  nature  to  suppress  yourself.  Do 
you  know  that  I  expect  great  things  of  you?  I  do." 

"I  know  one  thing  that  "I'm  going  to  do — I  am  going  to 
buy  the  old  house  and  a  nanow  strip  of  land — the  path 


THE  JUCKLItfS  205 

anfl  the  spring.  That's  all  I  want-  -the  house,  the  path 
and  the  spring,  with  just  a  little  strip  running  a  short  dis 
tance  down  the  brook  where  the  moss  us  so  thick.  I  have 
the  promise  of  money  from  Perdue,  and  I  think  that  I 
can  borrow  some  of  Conkwright.  Yes,  I  must  have  the 
house  and  the  path  and  the  spring  and  the  strip  of  moss- 
land  that  lies  along  the  branch.  It  will  be  merely  a  poetic 
possession,  but  such  possessions  are  the  richest  to  one 
who  has  a  soul;  and  no  one  with  a  soul  will  bid  against 
me.  It  is  a  mean  man  that  would  bid  against  a  sentiment." 

"You  must  be  nearly  worn  out,"  she  said,  when  for  some 
distance  we  had  walked  in  silence. 

"I  may  be,  but  I  don't  know  it  yet.  And  so  long  as  1 
don't  know  it,  why,  of  course,  I  don't  care." 

For  a  long  time  we  said  nothing.  Her  hand  was  on  my 
arm,  but  I  scarcely  felt  its  weight,  except  when  we  came 
upon  places  where  the  road  was  rough ;  and  I  wished  that 
the  way  were  rougher,  that  I  might  feel  her  dependence 
upon  me.  Once  she  stepped  into  a  deep  rut,  and  I  caught 
her  about  the  waist,  but  when  I  had  lifted  her  out,  she 
gently  released  herself.  She  said  that  the  road  was  rougher 
than  she  had  ever  before  found  it,  and  I  was  ready  to 
swear  that  it  was  the  most  delightful  highway  that  my  feet 
had  trod;  indeed,  I  did  swear  it,  but  she  warned  me  not 
to  use  such  strong  language  when  I  meant  to  convey  but 
a  weak  compliment. 

"Let  us  walk  faster,"  she  said.  "It  is  away  past  mid 
night  I  do  believe  it's  nearly  day.  Can  you  see  your 


206  THE  JUCKL1NS 

watch  ?* 

"Yes,  but  I  can't  see  the  time." 

"Nobody  can  see  time,  Mr.  Teacher  of  Children.* 

"But  I  could  not  tell  the  time  even  if  I  were  to  hold  the 
lantern  to  the  watch." 

"Oh,  of  course  you  could.  Why  do  you  talk  that 
way?" 

"I  am  moved  to  talk  that  way  because  I  know  that  the 
watch,  being  in  sympathy  with  me,  refuses  to  record  time 
when  I  am  with  you — it  frightens  off  the  minutes  in  an 
ecstasy." 

"Nonsense,  Mr.  Hawes.  I  do  believe  daylight  is  com 
ing.  What  a  night  we  have  passed,  and  here  I  am  unable 
to  realize  it,  and  mother  is  heart-broken  over  our  dis 
grace.  But  I  suppose  it  will  fall  upon  me  and  crush  me 
when  we  have  gone  away.  My  brother  sentenced  to  the 
penitentiary !  To  myself  I  have  repeated  these  words  over 
and  over  and  yet  they  don't  strike  me." 

"Perhaps  it  is  because  your  mind  is  on  some  one  else," 
I  replied,  with  a  return  of  my  feeling  of  bitterness. 

With  a  pressure  gentle  and  yet  forgetful  her  hand  had 
been  resting  on  my  arm,  but  in  an  instant  the  pressure 
was  gone  like  a  bird  fluttering  from  a  bough,  and  out  in 
the  road  she  was  walking  alone. 

"I  earnestly  beg  your  pardon.  I  scarcely  knew  what 
I  was,  saying.  Won't  you  please  take  my  arm?" 

"To  be  compelled  to  drop  it  again  before  we  have 
gone  a  hundred  yards?" 


THE  JUCKLINS  207 

"No,  to  drop  it  when  we  have  reached  the  gate.  Won't 
you,  please?  I  don't  deny  that  I  am  a  fool.  I  have  always 
been  a  fool.  My  father  said  so  and  he  was  right.  Every 
body  made  fun  of  me  because  I  was  so  easily  cheated;  and 
you  ought  to  be  willing  to  forgive  a  man  who  was  born  a 
failure.  Whenever  there  has  been  a  mistake  to  be  made 
I  have  made  it.  Once  I  was  caught  in  a  storm  and  when 
I  came  in  dripping,  my  father  said  that  I  hadn't  sense 
enough  to  come  in-  out  of  the  rain.  But  I  am  stronger 
with  every  one  else  than  I  am  with  you,  and " 

She  was  laughing  at  me;  but  it  was  a  laugh  of  sym 
pathy,  of  forgiveness,  and  I  caught  her  hand  and  placed  it 
upon  my  arm.  And  so  we  walked  along  in  silence,  she 
pressing  my  arm  when  the  road  was  rough.  Daylight 
was  coming  and  we  could  see  the  house,  dark  and  lone 
some  beyond  the  black  ravine. 

"What  a  peculiar  man  the  General  is,"  I  said,  feeling 
the  growing  heaviness  of  the  silence.  "I  can  hardly  place 
him;  but  I  believe  he  has  a  kind  heart." 

"Yes,"  she  replied,  "he  is  kind  and  brave  and  generous, 
but  over  it  all  is  a  weakness." 

"And  he  is  of  a  type  that  is  fast  disappearing,"  said  I. 
"A  few  years  more  and  his  class  will  be  but  a  memory, 
and  then  will  come  almost  a  forgetfulness,  but  later  on  he 
will  reappear  as  a  caricature  from  the  pen  of  some  careless 
and  unsympathetic  writer." 

We  had  crossed  the  ravine  and  were  now  at  the  gate, 
and  here  I  halted.  "What,  aren't  you  going  in?"  she  asked, 


208  THE  JUCKLINS 

looking  up  at  me,  and  in  the  dim  light  I  could  see  her  face, 
pale  and  sad. 

"No,"  I  answered,  "I  am  going  to  town." 
"At  this  hour,  and  when  you  are  so  tired?" 
"The  horse  is  rested,  and  as  for  myself,  my  duty  must 
give  me  vigor." 

"I  don't  understand  you.    What  can  you  do  in  town?" 
"I  can  bear  the  divinest  of  tidings — I  can  tell  Alf  that 
Millie  loves  him." 

She  stood  looking  down,  and,  bending  over  her,  I  kissed 
her  hair,  and  oh,  the  heaven  of  that  moment,  at  the  gate, 
in  the  dawn;  and  oh,  the  thrilling  perfume  of  her  hair, 
damp  with  the  dew  brushed  from  the  vine  and  the  leaf  of 
the  spice-wood  bush.  And  there,  without  a  word,  I  left  her, 
her  white  hands  clasped  on  her  bosom;  and  over  the  road 
way  I  galloped  with  a  message  on  my  lips  and  incense  in 
my  soul. 


THE  JUCKLINS 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

IHie  sun  was  an  hour  above  the  tree-tops  when  I  rode 
tip  to  the  livery-stable,  and  the  town  was  lazily  astir.  Mer 
chants  were  sprinkling  the  brick  pavements  in  front  of  their 
stores,  and  on  the  public  square  was  a  bon-fire  of  trash 
swept  from  the  court-house.  I  hastened  to  the  jail,  and  for 
the  first  time  the  jailer  hesitated  when  I  applied  for  admis 
sion.  My  eagerness,  apparent  to  every  one,  appeared  to  be 
mistrusted  by  him,  and  he  shook  his  head.  I  told  him  that 
he  might  go  in  with  me,  that  my  mission  was  simply  to  de 
liver  a  message. 

'The  man  has  been  sentenced,"  said  he,  "and  I  don't 
know  what  good  a  message  can  do  him.  I  am  ordered  to 
be  very  strict.  Some  time  ago  a  man  was  in  this  jail,  sen 
tenced  to  the  penitentiary,  but  he  didn't  go — a  friend  came 
in  and  left  him  some  pizen.  And  are  you  sure  you  ain't 
got  no  pizen  about  you." 

"You  may  search  me." 

"But  I  don't  know  pizen  when  I  see  it.  Man's  got  a 
right  to  kill  himself,  I  reckon,  but  he  ain't  got  no  right  to 
rob  me  of  my  position  as  jailer,  and  that's  what  it  woirid 
do.  Write  down  your  message  and  I'll  take  it  to  him." 

"That  would  take  too  long.    The  judge  has  granted  him 


210  THE  JUCKLINS 

a  new  trial  and  surely  he  wouldn't  want  to  kill  himself 
now." 

"Well,  I  reckon  you're  right,  but  still  we  have  to  be 
mighty  particular.  I  don't  know,  either  but  you  might 
be  taking  him  some  whisky.  Man's  got  a  right  to  drink 
whisky,  it's  true,  but  it  don't  speak  well  for  the  morals  and 
religious  standin'  of  a  jailer  if  he's  got  a  lot  of  drunken 
prisoners  on  hand;  so,  if  you've  got  a  bottle  about  you 
anywhere  you'd  better  let  me  take  it." 

"I've  got  no  bottle." 

"That  so?  Didn't  know  but  you  might  have  one.  Pro 
hibition  has  struck  this  town  putty  hard,  you  know. 
Search  yourself  and  see  if  you  hain't  got  a  bottle." 

"Don't  you  suppose  I  know  whether  I've  got  one  or 
not?  But  if  you  want  one  you  shall  have  it." 

"S-h-e-e!  Don't  talk  so  loud.  There's  nothin'  that 
sharpens  a  man's  ears  like  prohibition.  Say,"  he  whispered, 
"a  good  bottle  costs  about  a  dollar." 

"Here's  your  dollar.  It's  my  last  cent,  but  you  shall 
have  it." 

"Oh,  it  ain't  my  principle  to  rob  a  man,"  he  said  as  he 
took  the  money.  "But  I  do  need  a  little  licker  this  morn- 
in'.  Why,  I'm  so  dry  I  couldn't  whistle  to  a  dog.  No 
pizen,  you  understand,"  he  added,  with  a  wink,  as  he 
opened  the  door. 

The  drawing  of  the  bolts  must  have  aroused  Alf  from 
sleep,  for  when  I  stepped  into  the  corridor  he  was  sitting 
on  the  edge  of  his  bedr  rubbing  his  eyes. 


THE  JUCKLOTS  211 

"Helloa,  is  that  you,  Bill?    What  are  you  doing  here 

this  time  of  day?    Why,  I  haven't  had  breakfast  yet" 

"I  have  come  to  tell  you  something,  and  I  want  you  to 
be  quiet  while  I  tell  it." 

"That's  all  right,  old  man.  Go  ahead.  I  can  stand 
anything  now." 

I  told  him  of  the  scene  in  the  sitting-room,  of  the  walk 
to  the  General's  house — told  him  all  except  that  kiss  at  the 
gate.  He  uttered  not  a  word;  he  had  taken  hold  of  the 
bars  and  was  standing  with  his  head  resting  upon  his 
arms — had  gradually  found  this  position,  and  now  I  could 
not  see  his  face.  Long  I  stood  there,  waiting,  but  he  spoke 
not.  Suddenly  he  wheeled  about,  fell  upon  his  bed  and 
sobbed  aloud.  And  so  I  left  him,  and  ere  I  reached  the 
door  I  knew  that  his  sobbing  was  a  prayer,  that  his  heart 
had  found  peace  and  rest.  Upon  a  pardon  from  the  gov 
ernor  he  could  have  looked  with  cool  indifference,  for 
without  that  girl's  love  he  cared  not  to  live;  but  now  to 
know  that  through  the  dark  she  had  fled  from  her  home, 
rebellious  against  her  father's  pride,  wild  with  love — it 
was  a  mercy  granted  by  the  Governor  of  governors. 

I  went  to  see  Conkwright  and  told  him  of  the  threat 
that  Stuart  had  made,  and  the  old  man's  eyes  glistened. 
"We  ought  to  have  had  that  girl  on  the  stand  in  the  first 
place,"  he  said.  "But  it  was  a  delicate  matter  and,  of 
course,  we  didn't  know  that  she  could  bear  so  strongly 
upon  the  case.  It's  all  right — better  as  it  is,  and  that  boy 
will  get  off  as  sure  as  you  are  sitting  there.  That  threat 


212 


THE  JUCKLINS 


was  worse  than  his  standing  in  uic  roaa,  waiting.  Yes> 
sir,  it's  all  right,  and  you  may  take  up  your  school  again 
and  go  ahead  with  your  work." 

"I  don't  want  to  go  ahead  with  it,  Mr.  Conkwright.  I 
want  to  study  law  with  you.  The  school  was  only  a  make1 
shift,  any  way.  You  are  getting  old  and  you  need  some 
one  to  do  the  drudgery  of  your  office.  I  will  come  in  and 
work  faithfully." 

"Don't  know  but  you  are  right,  Billy." 

"I  wish,  sir,  that  you  wouldn't  call  me  Billy." 

"All  right,  Colonel." 

"And  I  don't  care  to  be  called  Colonel.  You  may  call 
me  Bill,  if  you  want  to,  but  Billy " 

"A  little  too  soft,  eh?  All  right.  I  don't  know  but  you 
are  the  very  man  I  want.  You  are  faithful  and  you've 
got  a  good  head.  Call  again  in  a  day  or  two.  It  has  been 
a  long  time  since  I  had  a  partner.  Yes,  come  in  again,  and 
i  think  we  can  arrange  it." 

"There  is  something  else  that  I  want  to  speak  about,  and 
to  me  it  is  of  more  importance  than " 

"Love !"  the  old  man  broke  in,  winking  at  me. 

'Til  tell  you,  if  you'll  wait  a  moment.  Then  you  may 
place  your  own  estimate  upon  it." 

I  told  him  of  the  broken  engagement,  of  Chyd's  indiffer 
ence,  of  the  old  couple's  plan  to  leave  the  community,  and 
I  unfolded  my  sentimental  resolve  to  buy  the  old  house. 
"And  now  I  must  ask  a  favor,"  I  continued.  "Old  man 
Pet  due  told  me  that  he  would  pay  me  for  the  time — time 


THE  JUCKLINS  218 

I  have  not  taught,  but  as  I  am  not  going  to  fill  out  the 
term  it  wouldn't  be  right  to  take  the  money." 

"Ah,  and  it  is  law  you  want  to  study?" 

"Why,  of  course.    Didn't  I  make  that  plain?" 

"Oh,  yes.  And  you  don't  think  it  would  be  right  to  take 
the  money?  Go  ahead,  though." 

"I  know  it  wouldn't  be  right.  And  what  I  want  to  ask 
of  you  is  this:  The  investment  will  require  about  two 
hundred  dollars.  Won't  you  lend  me  that  amount?" 

He  scratched  his  head,  scratched  his  chin,  bit  off  a  chew 
of  tobacco,  stretched  himself  and  said:  "Well,  I  have 
been  lending  money  all  my  life,  and  I  don't  see  why  I 
should  stop  now.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  anybody  paying 
back  borrowed  money  except  in  a  poker  game?  I  never 
did.  Do  people  really  pay  back?  I  don't  know  what  the 
custom  is  over  in  the  part  of  the  country  you  came  from, 
but  the  rules  are  very  strict  here,  and  they  are  not  violated 
very  often— they  rarely  pay  back.  And  they  never  violate 
the  rule  with  me." 

"My  dear  sir,  I  will  pay  you " 

"Yes,  I  know.  Oh,  you've  got  the  formula  down  pretty 
fine.  Make  a  good  lawyer.  I've  got  some  money  in  that 
safe,  that  is,  if  nobody  has  robbed  me.  Let  me  see  if  I've 
been  robbed." 

He  opened  the  safe  and  took  out  a  package  of  bank 
notes.  "Don't  believe  I've  been  robbed.  Rather  singular, 
too,"  he  went  on,  counting  the  money.  "Two  hundred, 
you  said.  Better  take  two-fifty — you  need  some  clothes. 


fcl*  THE  JUCKLINS 

Pardon  me  for  being  so  keen  an  observer.  It  really  es 
caped  my  notice  until  this  moment.  But  what  you  want 
with  the  old  house  is  more  than  I  can  understand.  No, 
Billy — Bill,  I  mean — no,  I  understand  it  and  it  is  a  noble 
quality." 

He  rolled  up  the  money,  handed  it  to  me  and  continued 
to  talk.  "After  all,  sentiment  is  the  only  thing  in  life,  but 
you'd  better  not  tell  this  about  town — I'd  never  get  an 
other  case.  Yes,  sir,  and  the  poet  is  the  only  man  who 
really  lives.  Now  go  on  and  buy  your  acre  of  sentiment, 
and  when  you  have  closed  the  bargain,  lie  down  upon 
your  possessions  and  go  to  sleep.  Tell  the  old  man  that 
he  is  a  fool  for  going  away,  but  tell  him  also  that  I  don't 
blame  him  for  being  a  fool.,  Yes,  sir,  I  love  a  fool,  for  it's 
the  wise  man  that  puts  me  to  trouble.  Give  my  warmest 
regards  to  that  old  woman.  Let  me  tell  you  something: 
Many  years  ago  I  was  a  poor  young  fellow  working  about 
the  court-house.  And  the  clothes  you've  got  on  now  are 
wedding  garments  compared  with  what  mine  were.  Well, 
one  day  I  stopped  at  Jucklin's  house  to  get  out  of  the 
rain — he  hadn't  been  married  long — and  soon  after  I  went 
into  the  sitting-room,  the  wife  began  to  whisper  to  the 
husband,  and  when  she  went  out,  which  she  did  a  moment 
later,  Jucklin  turned  to  me  and  said:  'Go  up  stairs,  take 
off  your  britches  and  throw  'em  down  here,  and  I'll  bring 
'em  back  to  you  after  a  while.'  I  was  actually  out  at  the 
knees,  sir,  and  I  did  as  he  told  me,  and  when  he  bro  ight 
my  trousers  back  they  were  neatly  patched.  Yes,  sir,,  give 


THE  JUCKLiNS  21& 

aiy  wannest  regards  to  that  old  woman,  for  if  she  isn't  a 
Christian  there  never  was  one.  Well,  what  are  you  hang 
ing  around  here  for?  Trying  to  thank  me?  Is  that  it? 
Weil,  ji.st  go  on,  my  boy,  and  we'll  attend  to  that  some 
other  time." 

"You  know  what  I  feel,  Mr.  Conkwright,  and  I  will  not 
attempt  to  thank  you,  but  I  must  say  that  I  was  never 
more  surprised  in  a  man.  I  was  told  that  you  were  hard 
and  unsympathetic." 

"Sorry  you  found  me  out,  sir.  Let  a  lawyer  get  the 
name  of  being  kind  and  they  say  that  he  is  emotional,  but 
has  no  logic.  Blackstone  had  to  give  up  poetry.  Well, 
good -day.  I'm  busy." 

I  ate  breakfast  at  the  tavern,  nodding  over  the  table; 
and  I  was  so  sleepy  that  I  could  scarcely  sit  my  horse  as 
I  rode  toward  home.  The  day  was  hot  and  drowsy  was 
the  air,  in  the  road  and  on  the  hill-side,  where  a  boy,  weary 
and  heavy  with  the  leg-pains  of  adolescence,  was  dragging 
himself  after  a  plow.  Once  I  dozed  off  to  sleep  and  awoke 
under  a  tree,  the  wise  old  horse  knowing  that  he  could 
take  advantage  of  my  sleepiness  to  bat  his  eyes  in  the 
shade,  and  when  I  spoke  to  him  he  started  off  at  a  trot  as 
if  surprised  to  find  that  he  had  turned  aside  from 
his  duty.  I  was  nearly  home  and  was  riding  along  half 
asleep  when  the  frightful  squealing  of  a  pig  drew  my  at 
tention  down  a  lane  that  opened  into  the  road.  The  ani 
mal  was  caught  under  a  rail  fence  and  his  companions  were 
running  up  to  him,  one  after  another,  and  were  raking 


216  THE  JUCKLIN8 

him  with  their  sharp  teeth.  I  got  down  and  fought  off  the 
excited  beasts,  knocked  one  of  them  down  for  his  cruelty, 
and  lifted  the  fence  to  liberate  the  prisoner;  and  when  he 
was  free  his  companions,  the  ones  that  had  been  ripping  his 
hide,  ran  up  to  congratulate  him  upon  his  good  fortune; 
and  in  the  whole  performance  I  saw  a  heartless  phase  of 
human  life,  musing  as  I  rearranged  the  rails  that  had 
been  lifted  away,  and  when  I  straightened  up  there  stood 
Etheredge  looking  at  me. 

"These  are  my  hogs,"  he  said. 

"I  didn't  know  that,"  I  replied,  "but  I  might  have  known 
that  they  were  members  of  your  family." 

"Yes,  you  might  have  known  a  great  many  things  that 
you  have  never  been  wise  enough  to  find  out.  But  I 
don't  want  to  lash  words  with  you,  Mr.  Hawes.  I  simply 
stopped  to  tell  you  that  a  man  who  would  go  out  of  his 
way  to  lift  a  heavy  fence  to  help  a  hog  is  not  a  bad  fellow ; 
and  I  want  to  apologize  for  anything  that  I  have  said  to 
anger  you.  I  have  nothing  against  you  and  I  don't  blame 
you  for  sticking  to  a  friend.  One  of  these  days  you'll  find 
that  I'm  not  half  as  bad  a  fellow  as  you  have  had  cause  to 
think  me.  Let  us  call  off  our  engagement.  Is  it  a  go?" 

"Doctor,  I  have  no  desire  to  kill  you,  and  I  think  that 
your  death  would  be  the  result  of  our  keeping  that  en 
gagement." 

"Pretty  confident  sort  of  a  man,  I  take  it.  And  aftei 
all,  bravery  is  nothing  but  a  sort  of  over-confidence.  But 
I  don't  believe  that  you  would  kill  me;  I  believe  that  it 


THE  JUCKLINS  2P 

would  be  the  other  way,  and  it  is  not  out  of  fear  that  I 
propose  a  setting  aside  of  our  indefinite  agreement  to 
meet  each  other.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  we  will  call  it 
off  unless  you  insist,  and  if  you  do,  why,  as  a  gentleman 
I  shall  be  compelled  to  meet  you.  I  am  brave  enough  to 
confess  that  I  can't  help  but  admire  you  morally  and  phys 
ically.  In  a  small  way,  I  was  once  a  demonstrator  of 
anatomy,  and  from  an  outside  estimate  I  must  pronounce 
you  as  fine  a  specimen  of  manhood  as  I  ever  saw.  And 
if  you'll  come  over  to  the  house  we'll  take  a  long  drink  on 
the  strength  of  it" 

"The  spirit  of  your  hospitality  is  not  lost  upon  me, 
Doctor,  but  the  truth  is,  I  never  drink.  But  with  a  cheer 
ful  willingness  I  accept  your  other  proposition — to  set 
aside  our  engagement  It  was  no  more  your  fault  than 
mine." 

"Yes,  it  was,  Mr.  Hawes — I  wantonly  nagged  at  you. 
But  we  will  let  it  drop.  Under  present  conditions  we  can't 
be  very  good  friends,  but  there  will  come  a  time  when  you 
must  acknowledge  that  malice  may  know  what  it  is  to  be 
honest,  if  not  generous." 

"Don't  go  now,  Doctor;  you  have  interested  me.  Tell 
me  what  you  mean." 

"I  wish  you  good-day,  Mr.  Hawes,"  was  his  reply,  as  he 
strode  off  down  the  lane.  And  he  left  me  holding  him  in 
a  strange  sort  of  regard;  he  had  flattered  me  and  had  hinted 
at  a  future  generosity.  Could  it  be  that  he  intended  to 
modify  his  evidence  when  again  he  should  appear  against 


218  THE  JUCKLINS 

Alf  ?  A  demonstrator  of  anatomy — and  he  could  soothe  a 
nerve  as  well  as  expose  a  muscle.  I  felt  kindly  toward  him 
as  I  rode  along,  though  blaming  myself  for  my  weakness. 
But  I  have  never  known  a  very  large  man  who  had  not 
some  vital  weakness — of  vanity,  egotism,  over-generosity, 
foolish  tenderness — something  in  ill-keeping  with  a  well- 
poised  morality.  With  old  Sir  John  we  have  more  flesh, 
and,  therefore,  more  of  frailty. 

As  I  came  within  sight  of  the  house  I  saw.  three  men 
slowly  walking  about  in  the  yard,  and,  upon  reaching  the 
gate,  I  recognized  them  as  Parker,  Jucklin  and  Perdue.  I 
turned  the  horse  into  a  lot  and  joined  them. 

''Well,"  said  Jucklin,  "it's  all  over  and  I  have  sold  out 
to  Parker." 

"Not  the  house,  too!"  I  cried  in  alarm. 

The  old  man  smiled  and  winked  at  Parker.  "Well,  not 
quite,"  he  said.  "Guinea  told  me  what  you  wanted,  and 
sir,  you  can  have  it,  though  I  tell  you  right  now  that 
it  ain't  worth  much." 

"Will  you  take  two  hundred  dollars?" 

"Not  from  you,  Bill.  You  may  have  the  house  and 
the  path  and  the  spring  and  the  strip  of  moss,  for  if  you 
haven't  earned  that  and  more — 

"Hold  on,  Mr.  Jucklin.  I  want  the  property  made  over 
to  me  in  regular  form  when  I'  have  paid  you  for  it.  I  will 
accept  of  no  concession;  want  to  pay  as  much  as  Mr.Parker 
would  have  paid,  and  I  have  borrowed  money  enough  to 
:lose  the  deal,  You  are  going  away  and  you  will  need 


JUCKL1NS  219 

every  cent  you  can  possibly  raise;  and  I  demand  that  you 
take  the  two  hundred  dollars  that  I  have  collected  for  you. 
It  will  be  of  no  use  to  say  that  you  will  not,  for  I  am  de 
termined,  and,  although  you  have  been  very  kind,  you  will 
find  me  a  hard  man  to  fight.  And  remember  that  there 
is  a  debt  to  be  paid." 

He  held  out  his  hand  and  looked  over  toward  the  Gen 
eral's  house  as  I  gripped  his  rough  palm. 

"I  have  buried  'em  over  by  the  edge  of  the  woods,"  he 
said;  "buried  'em  with  their  gaffs  on.  I  couldn't  help  it — 
they  had  to  fight  to  a  finish.  Yes,  it  shall  be  as  you  say. 
I  will  pay  what  I  owe  and  still  have  money  enough  to  get 
away  off  somewhere.  We'll  draw  up  the  papers  in  town 
and  have  it  over  with  at  once." 

"Mr.  Hawes,  I've  got  a  hundred  dollars  that's  yours," 
said  old  man  Perdue.  "I  have  brought  the  money,  and 
here  it  is." 

"I  can't  take  it,  Mr.  Perdue.  I  haven't  earned  it,  and 
shall  not  earn  it.  I  am  not  going  to  teach  your  school." 

"The  deuce  you  say!  Why,  my  grandson  thinks  there 
ain't  nobody  in  the  world  like  you — says  you  can  whip 
any  livin'  man.  You  must  teach  that  school." 

"No,  I  am  going  to  study  law  with  Judge  Conkwright." 

"What,  with  him?  Don't  you  do  it.  Why,  there  ain't 
a  harder  hearted  man  on  the  face  of  the  earth  than  he  is. 
Smart  as  a  whip,  but  he  don't  go  to  church  once  in  five 
years.  Oh,  you  needn't  smile,  for  it's  a  fact.  Not  once  in 
five  years,  and  what  can  you  expect  from  a  man  like  that? 


220  THE  JUCKLilSS 

Oh,  hell  grind  you  into  the  very  ground.  Ain't  got  a 
particle  of  feelinV 

"I  expect  him  to  teach  me  the  law  and  I  can  get  along 
with  my  present  stock  of  religion.  But  even  if  he  were 
to  offer  me  his  religion,  I  would  accept  it.  I  know  him 
better  than  you  can  ever  know  him.  But  we  have  no 
cause  to  discuss  him.  No,  I  can't  take  your  money/' 

"But  you  have  earned  some  of  it  Twenty-five  dollars, 
at  least* 

"Well,  I  will  take  that  much* 

"Take  it  all,"  said  Parker. 

"No,  twenty-five,"  I  replied. 

"You  are  your  own  boss,"  Perdue  observed;  "you  know 
best.  Here's  your  twenty-five,  and  I'll  make  it  fifty  if 
you'll  send  out  word  that  the  new  man,  whoever  he  may 
be,  mustn't  go  into  the  creek.  You  are  the  sort  of  a  re 
former  that  this  community  has  needed.  Well,  gentle 
men,  I've  got  to  get  home.  Issue  your  proclamation,  sir, 
and  send  for  the  other  twenty-five." 

Parker  said  that  it  was  time  for  him  to  go,  and,  adding 
that  he  would  meet  Jucklin  in  town,  left  us  at  the  door. 

Mrs.  Jucklin  was  brighter  than  I  had  expected  to  find 
her,  and  when  I  told  her  what  Conkwright  had  said,  that 
Alf  would  surely  be  acquitted,  the  light  of  a  new  hope 
leaped  into  her  eyes. 

"I  told  Limuel  that  God  would  not  permit  such  a 
-Tong,"  she  said.  "Didn't  I,  Limuel?" 

'"You  said  something  about  it,  Susan;  I  have  forgot 


THB  JCCKLINS  221 

exactly  what  it  was.  It's  all  right  if  the  judge  says  he 
knows  it.  Yes,  sir,  it's  all  right.  But  we'll  leave  here  all 
the  same.  Don't  reckon  we'll  ever  come  back ;  can't  stand 
to  be  p'inted  at.  Fight  a  man  in  a  minit  if  he  p'ints  at  me," 

"Oh,  Limuel,  don't  talk  about  fighting  when  we  are  in 
so  much  trouble." 

"Fight  a  man  in  a  minit  if  he  p'ints  at  me.  Knock  down 
a  sign-post  if  it  p'ints  at  me.  Well,  we  want  a  little  bite  to 
eat.  Been  about  six  weeks  since  I  eat  anything,  it  seems 
like." 

All  this  time  I  was  wondering  where  Guinea  could  be, 
and  was  startled  by  every  sound.  The  mother  asked  me 
how  Alf  looked  and  how  he  had  acted  when  I  had  pictured 
Millie's  leaving  home;  and  I  told  her  mechanically,  won 
dering,  listening;  and  I  broke  off  suddenly,  for  I  thought 
there  was  a  footstep  at  the  door.  No,  it  was  a  chicken  in 
the  passage.  They  asked  me  many  questions  and  I  an 
swered  without  hearing  my  own  words.  Mrs.  Jucklin  went 
out  to  the  dining-room  and  the  old  man  began  to  talk 
about  his  chickens.  He  had  found  them  bloody  and  stiff, 
and  had  buried  them  in  a  box  lined  with  an  old  window 
curtain.  And  now  there  was  a  step  at  the  door.  I  looked 
up  and  Guinea  stood  there,  looking  back,  listening  to  her 
mother.  And  thus  she  stood  a  long  time,  I  thought,  and 
yet  she  must  have  known  that  I  was  in  the  room.  Mr. 
Jucklin  spoke  to  her  and  she  came  in,  walking  very  slowly. 
Her  face  was  pale,  with  a  sadness  that  smote  my  heart. 
She  sat  down  and  looked  out  of  the  window.  Mrs 


222  THE  JUCKL1NTS 

Jucklin  called  the  old  man,  and  when  he  was  gone  I  told 
Guinea  that  I  had  left  Alf  in  a  convulsive  joy;  and,  still 
looking  out  of  the  window,  she  said :  "You  are  the  noblest 
man  I  ever  met." 

I  sprang  to  my  feet,  but  quickly  she  lifted  her  hand  and 
motioned  me  back,  though  she  still  looked  away.  ''Sit 
down,  please.  Don't  you  remember  our  agreement  to  be 
frank  with  each  other?" 

"Yes,  I  remember  it,  but  frankness  means  the  opposite 
of  restraint." 

"Yes,  but  frankness  should  always  have  judgment  be 
hind  it." 

"Guinea!"  She  looked  at  me.  "Guinea,  you  say  that 
after  a  while  he  will  kneel  at  your  feet." 

"Yes,  after  a  while,  Mr.  Hawes." 

"But  let  me — let  me  kneel  at  your  feet  now!" 

Slowly  she  shook  her  head.  "No,  Mr.  Hawes,  you  must 
never  do  that.  Sometime  we  may  kneel  together,  but 
you  must  never  kneel  to  me.  Now  we  are  frank,  aren't 
we?  We  may  go  to  church  together  and  hear  some  one 
pray  a  beautiful  prayer,  a  prayer  that  may  seem  the  echo 
of  our  own  heart-throbs.  Sweet  is  confidence,  and  I  ask 
you  to  have  confidence  in  me.  Let  me  havQ  my  way,  and 
when  the  time  is  ripe,  I  will  come  to  you  with  my  hands 
held  out.  Yes,  when  the  time  is  ripe.  And  then  there  will 
be  no  reproaches  and  nothing  to  forgive,  but  everything  to 
worship  and  to  bless.  Oh,  I  am  a  great  talker  when  once 
I  am  started,  Mr.  Hawes,  and  I  think  all  the  time  I 


fHE  JUCKLIN8  m 

thought  this  morning  as  I  stood  at  the  gate,  just  as  you  left 
me  standing;  I  heard  you  galloping  down  the  road.  And 
do  you  know  wJiat  I  thought  of?  It  was  almost  profane, 
but  I  thought  of  the  baptizing  at  the  river  of  Jordan, 
when  the  spirit  came  down  like  a  dove;  and  I  knew  what 
must  have  been  the  thrilling  touch  of  that  spirit,  for  the 
holiness  of  love  had  touched  my  hair.  No,  Mr.  Hawes, 
not  now.  There,  sit  down  again  and  let  me  talk,  for  I  am 
started  now.  Oh,  and  you  thought  that  I  was  dumb  and 
feelingless?  You  mustn't  weep;  but  as  for  me,  why,  I  am 
a  woman  and  tears  are  a  woman's  inheritance.  There,  I 
have  said  enough,  and  after  this  we  must  speak  to  each 
other  as  friends — until  the  time  when  I  shall  come  to  you 
with  my  hands  held  out;  and  then  I  am  going  to  tell  you 
of  a  woman  who  loved  a  man,  not  with  a  halting,  half 
hearted  love,  but  with  a  love  as  broad  as  God's  smile  when 
the  earth  is  in  bloom.  You  didn't  know  that  I  was  so 
persistent,  did  you?  Isn't  it  time  for  a  woman  to  be  per 
sistent?  No  woman  has  ever  kept  silence,  they  tell  us, 
but  women  have  been  constrained  to  talk  around  the  sub 
ject,  festooning  it  with  their  insinuating  fancies.  But 
women  are  more  outspoken  now  and  are  permitted  to  be 
truer  to  themselves.  Yes,  you  must  have  confidence  in 
me;  let  me  indulge  my  dream  a  while  longer,  and  then 
I  will  come  to  you,  but  until  then  let  us  be  friends." 

"But  won't  you  let  me  tell  you  something  now?  Won't 
you  let  me  tell  you  that  in  the  moonlight  I  bowed  until  my 
head  touched  the  dust,  worshiping  you  as  you  stood * 


224  THE  JUCKUNS 

"No,  not  now;  not  until  I  come.  And  won't  you  respect 
my  wishes,  even  if  they  are  foolish  ?" 

"Now  and  forever,  angel,  yo'ir  word  shall  be  a  divine 
law  unto  me." 

"They  are  calling  us,"  rfif  said.    "Come  on." 


THE  JUCKLINS 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

In  the  afternoon  I  went  to  town  with  the  old  man,  to 
attend  upon  the  transfer  of  the  property,  and  I  slept  in  the 
wagon,  conscious  of  Guinea  when  the  road  was  rough,  and 
sweetly  dreaming  of  her  when  there  was  no  jolt  to  disturb 
my  slumber.  It  was  long  after  midnight  when  we  re 
turned.  I  was  resolved  to  go  early  to  bed,  for  Guinea 
and  her  mother  were  sadly  engaged  packing  a  box  with 
the  bric-a-brac  upon  which  time  and  association  had 
placed  the  seal  of  endearment. 

"Now,  I  wonder  what  has  become  of  that  old  lace  cur 
tain,"  said  Mrs.  Jucklin.  "I  have  looked  everywhere  and 
can't  find  it,  and  I  know  it  was  in  the  chest  up  stairs." 

The  old  man  began  to  scratch  his  head. 

"I  don't  know  who  could  have  taken  it,"  Mrs.  Jucklin 
went  on.  "It  couldn't  have  walked  off,  I'm  sure.  Lim- 
uel?" 

"Yes,  ma'm." 

"Do  you  know  what  has  become  of  that  old  curtain?" 

"What,  that  ragged  old  thing  that  wan't  worth  nothin'?" 

"Worth  nothin' !  Why,  it  belonged  to  my  grand 
mother." 

"I  never  heard  of  that  before," 


#6  THE  JUCKL1NS 

"Oh,  yes,  you  have,  and  what* s  the  use  of  talkin'  that 
A'ay?  You've  known  it  all  the  time." 

"News  to  me,"  said  the  old  man. 

"It's  not  news  to  you,  anything  of  the  sort;  but  the 
question  is,  do  you  know  what  has  become  of  it?" 

''Susan,  in  this  here  life  many  things  happen,  things 
that  we  wish  hadn't  happened.  I  am  not  sorry  that  they 
fit 'to  a  finish,  for  that  had  to  be;  but  I  am  sorry  that  1 
wrapped  'em  in  that  curtain  when  I  buried  'em." 

"Gracious  alive,  what  has  possessed  the  man!  Oh,  you 
do  distress  me  so.  How  could  you  do  such  a  thing,  Lim- 
uel?  I  do  believe  you  have  gone  daft.  But  you  go  right 
out  there  now  and  dig  up  them  good-for-nothin'  chickens 
and  bring  me  that  curtain.  Go  right  on  this  minit." 

"What,  Susan,  and  rob  the  dead  and  the  brave?  You 
wouldn't  have  me  do  that." 

"Go  on,  I  tell  you,  or  I'll  go  myself,  and  throw  the 
fetchtaked  things  over  to  the  hogs.  The  idee  of  wrappin' 
up  them  cruel,  good-for-nothin'  things  in  a  curtain  like 
that.  Oh,  I  never  was  so  provoked  in  my  life." 

The  old  man  got  up  and  stretched  himself.  "Bill,"  said 
he,  "I  am  sometimes  forced  to  believe  that  the  women 
folks  are  lackin'  in  human  sympathy.  Ma'm,  I'll  fetch 
your  curtain,  but  I've  got  to  have  somethin'  to  wrap 
around  the  dead  and  the  brave." 

"Don't  you  take  that  apron.  Why,  if  he  wouldn't  take 
the  best  apron  I've  got,  right  out  from  under  my  very 
eyes.  And  you  can't  have  that  stand  cover,  either." 


THE  JUCKLINS 

"Well,  but,  by  jings,  what  can  I  have?  Am  I  a  traveler 
that  has  jest  stopped  here  to  stay  all  night?  There's  no  use 
in  talking  I'm  goin'  to  have  'em  put  away  decent.  Take 
me  for  a  barbarian?" 

He  went  out,  and  just  as  I  was  going  up  to  bed  I  met 
him  in  the  passage  way,  with  a  roll  of  white  stuff  in  his 
bare  arms,  and  as  he  stepped  into  the  room  I  heard  his  wife 
exclaim:  "Mercy  on  me,  if  he  hasn't  taken  his  best  shirt. 
And  what  he  is  goin'  to  do  for  somethin'  to  wear  the  Lord 
only  knows." 

I  heard  Guinea  laughing,  and  then  I  heard  the  old  man 
say  that  what  a  man  happened  to  \vear  would  make  but 
little  difference  with  the  Lord. 

I  was  so  worn  that  my  sleep  that  night  was  dreamless, 
but  when  early  at  morning  they  called  me  to  breakfast 
I  knew  that  during  the  hours  of  that  deep  oblivion  I  had 
been  vaguely  conscious  of  a  dim  and  shadowy  happiness; 
and  a  vivid  truth  came  upon  me  with  the  first  glimpse  of 
sunlight. 

The  old  man  was  waiting  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs.  "Bill, 
we  are  goin'  over  to  the  station  right  after  we  eat  a  bite," 
he  said.  "We  can't  take  but  a  few  things,  and  we'll  leave 
the  most  of  our  trumpery  till  we  git  settled  somewhere. 
Take  care  of  that  horse  you've  been  ridin' — he  don't  be 
long  to  us;  was  left  here  by  a  man  some  time  ago,  feller 
that  had  to  go  away  off  somewhere  to  see  his  folks.  So, 
you  jest  keep  him  till  he's  called  for;  and  I've  left  you 
plenty  of  corn  out  there  to  feed  him  on.  You  can  study 


228  THE  JUCKLINS 

your  books  here  about  as  well  as  you  can  in  town,  and 
I  wish  you'd  sorter  look  after  the  things.  Parker  will  drive 
us  over  to  the  station." 

"And  am  I  to  go  also?"  I  asked. 

"No,  I  believe  not.  It's  Guinea's  arrangement  and  not 
mine.  Let  her  have  her  own  way.  All  women  have  got 
their  whims,  the  whole  kit  an'  b'ilin'  of  'em,  and  you  might 
as  well  reason  with  a  weather  cock.  Wait  a  minit  before 
we  go  in.  As  soon  as  we  git  half  way  settled  Guinea  will 
write  to  you.  I  have  no  idee  where  I'm  goin',  but  it  will 
be  away  off  somewhere.  It  makes  me  shudder  every  time 
I  meet  a  man  that  I  know,  and  I'd  bet  a  horse  that  if  I  was 
to  meet  a  cross-eyed  feller  I'd  fight  him.  If  Alf  gits  clear 
he  can  come  to  us.  And  you — I'm  sorry  you  have  decided 
to  go  in  with  Conkwright,  for  I  wanted  you  to  come  with 
Alf." 

"I  will  come.  Nothing  shall  stand  in  the  way.  Mr.  Juck- 
lin,  have  you  noticed " 

"Yes,  I've  noticed  everything.  And  it's  all  right.  And 
Susan  has  noticed  everything  and  it's  all  right  with  her. 
There  never  was  a  prouder  human  than  Guinea,  sir;  the 
old  General's  pride  is  rain  water  compared  to  her'n.  And 
she's  got  an  idee  in  her  head — I  don't  exactly  understand 
it,  but  she's  got  it  there  and  we'll  have  to  let  her  keep  it 
till  she  wrants  to  throw  it  aside.  I  was  over  to  the  Gen 
eral's  before  sun  up  this  mornin'.  He  swiore  that  he 
wouldn't  take  the  money,  but  I  left  it  under  a  brick-bat 
on  the  gate  post  and  come  away.  Well,  everything  is 


THE  JUCKLIKS 


229 


settled,  and  all  I  can  say  now  is,  God  bless  you." 

We  were  silent  at  breakfast,  and  we  dared  not  look  at 
one  another.  A  wagon  came  rattling  through  the  gate, 
and  Parker  shouted  that  he  was  ready.  No  one  had  said 
a  word,  but  the  old  man  struck  the  table  with  his  fist  and 
exclaimed :  "I  insist  on  everybody  showin'  common  sense. 
I  don't  want  anybody  to  speak  to  me.  I'll  fight  in  a  minit. 
Git  in  that  wagon  without  a  word.  Hush,  now." 

I  wanted  to  lead  Guinea  to  the  wagon,  to  feel  again  her 
dependence  upon  me,  but  she  pretended  to  be  looking 
away  when  I  attempted  to  take  her  hand,  and  so  she 
walked  on  alone;  but  I  helped  her  into  the  vehicle,  and  I 
kissed  her  hand  when  she  took  hold  of  the  seat.  She 
gave  me  a  quick  look  and  a  smile;  and  the  wagon  rolled 
away.  I  stood  on  the  log  step,  watching  it,  and  as  it  was 
slowly  sinking  beyond  the  hill  I  saw  the  flutter  of  a  hand 
kerchief. 

I  went  up  to  my  room  and  sat  down,  sad  that  I  had 
seen  her  going  away  from  me,  yet  happy  to  know  that 
she  had  left  her  heart  in  my  keeping.  But  the  foolishness 
of  this  separation  struck  me  with  a  force  that  had  been 
lacking  until  now,  and  for  a  time  I  felt  toward  the  old 
man  a  hardness  that  not  even  a  keen  appreciation  of  his 
kindness  and  his  drollery  could  soften.  Gradually,  how 
ever,  the  truth  came  to  me  that  Alf  had  dra\vn  the  plan, 
and  with  my  arms  stretched  out  toward  the  hill-top  that 
had  slowly  arisen  between  me  and  the  fluttering  hand 
kerchief  I  foolishly  apologized  to  the  old  man.  I  d'd  more 


2HT  THE  JUCKLINS 

foolish  things  than  that;  I  improvised  a  hymn  and  sang  it 
to  Guinea — a  chant  that,  no  doubt,  would  have  been  im 
measurably  funny  to  the  cold-hearted  and  the  sane,  but  it 
brought  the  tears  to  my  eyes  and  rendered  the  rafters  just 
above  my  head  a  work  of  lace,  far  away.  And  at  these 
devotions  I  might  have  remained  for  hours  had  not  a  sharp 
footfall  smote  upon  my  ear.  I  hastened  down  stairs,  and 
at  the  entrance  of  the  passage  stood  Chyd  Lundsford 
looking  about,  slowly  lashing  his  leg  with  a  switch. 

"Helloa!  Where  are  all  the  folks?" 

"They  are  gone,  sir,"  I  answered,  stiffly  bowing  to  him. 

"Gone?    I  don't  know  that  I  quite  catch  your  meaning.'' 

"If  it  be  illusive  you  have  made  it  so.  I  said  that  they 
were  gone,  which  means,  of  course,  that  they  are  not 
here." 

"I  understand  that  all  right  enough,  but  do  you  mean 
that  they  are  not  in  at  present  or  that  they  have  really  left 
home?" 

"They  have  no  home,  sir." 

He  gave  himself  a  sharp  cut  with  the  switch.  "It  can't 
have  been  so  very  long  since  they  left,  for  the  old  man 
was  over  to  see  father  this  morning.  Which  way  did  they 
go?  I  may  overtake  them." 

"That  would  be  greatly  against  their  wish,  sir." 

"I  am  not  asking  for  an  opinion.  I  want  to  know  which 
way  they  went." 

"I  am  not  at  liberty  to  tell  you  that.  They  have  gone 
out  into  a  world  that  is  as  strange  to  them  as  America 


THE  JUCKL1NS  231 

was  to  Columbus." 

"Rot.  There  isn't  a  smarter  woman  anywhere  than 
Guinea.  She  has  read  everything  and  she  knows  the 
world  as  well  as  I  do.  But  why  are  you  not  privileged  to 
tell  me  which  way  they  went?  I  have  something  to  say 
that  concerns  them  closely.  Did  they  go  toward  town?" 

"Do  you  suppose  that  they  would  go  away  without  first 
seeing  their  son?" 

"Then  you  mean  that  they  went  to  town.  Why  the 
devil  can't  you  speak  out?  Why  should  you  stand  as  a 
stumbling  block?" 

"Why  should  I  stand  as  a  sign  post?" 

"Now  here,  you  needn't  show  your  selfishness  in  this 
matter.  She  wouldn't  wipe  her  feet  on  you." 

"No,  but  she  would  wipe  them  on  you." 

"What!"  He  took  a  step  forward,  but  he  stepped  back 
again  and  stood  there,  lashing  himself  with  the  switch. 
"My  father  tells  me  that  you  are  a  gentleman,"  he  said. 

"And  you  may  safely  accept  your  father's  opinion  of 
me,"  I  answered. 

"But  you  are  not  striving,  sir,  to  make  that  opinion 
good." 

"A  good  opinion  needs  no  bolstering  up." 

"This  bantering  is  all  nonsense.  I've  got  nothing 
against  you ;  I  have  simply  asked  you  a  civil  question." 

"And  I  hope  to  be  as  civil  as  you  are,  but  out  of  regard 
for  the  feelings  of  those  old  people  and  their  daughter  I 
cannot  tell  you  which  way  they  went.  You  couldn't  over- 


232  XHE  JUCKLISTS 


take  them,  any  way." 

"But  I  can  try." 

"Yes,  you  could  have  tried  yesterday  and  the  day  be- 
tore,  and  a  week  ago,  when  they  needed  your  sympathy.'" 

He  dropped  his  switch,  but  he  caught  it  up  again,  and 
his  face  was  red.  "I  might  say,  sir,  that  what  I  have  done 
and  that  which  I  have  failed  to  do  is  no  business  of  yours, 
but  I  feel  that  there  is  a  measure  of  justice  in  what  you 
say,  and  I  acknowledge  that  I  have  been  wrong.  That  is 
why  I  am  here  now  —  to  set  myself  right." 

"In  matters  of  business  we  may  correct  an  error,  Mr. 
Lundsford;  we  may  rub  out  one  figure  and  put  down  an 
other,  but  a  mark  made  upon  the;  heart  is  likely  to  remain 
there." 

"I  will  not  attempt  to  bandy  jentimentalities  with  you, 
sir.  I  am  a  practical  man,  a  scientist,  if  you  wish  ;  and  I 
came  here  to  tell  that  girl  that  my  breaking  off  the  engage 
ment  —  you  must  know  all  about  it  —  was  wrong.  I  told 
my  father  to  come,  for  just  at  that  time  I  didn't  feel  that  as 
a  man  who  looks  forward  to  something  a  little  more  than 
a  name  I  could  afford  to  marry  her.  But  I  was  wrong; 
any  living  man  could  afford  to  marry  her.  1  was  wrong, 
and  that  ought  to  settle  it" 

"And  I  think,  sir,  that  it  does  settk  it  as  far  as  you  are 
concerned." 

"Do  you  mean  that  she  won't  marry  me?  Oh,  yes,  she 
will,  not  out  of  any  foolish  love,  bu>  because  she  would 
be  proud  of  my  success,  Well,  I  may  not  overtake  her,  but 


THE  JUCKLINS 

I  will  write  to  her.  Yes,  that  will  do  as  well.  She  will  want 
to  know  how  things  are  getting  along  here,  and  will 
write  to  you,  and  when  she  does  I  wish  you  would  show 
me  her  letter.  What  are  you  laughing  at?  Haven't  you 
got  any  sense  at  all?" 

"I  hope  so,  but  I  am  not  so  much  of  a  scientist  that  I 
am  a  fool." 

"No,  but  you  are  so  much  of  a  fool  that  you  are  not  a 
scientist,  by  a  d d  sight." 

He  had  me  there,  and  it  was  his  time  to  laugh,  and  he 
did.  He  was  so  tickled  that  he  roared,  walking  up  and 
down  the  passage;  and  he  was  so  pleased  that  he  held  out 
his  hand  to  shake  upon  the  merit  of  his  joke.  I  was  not 
disposed  to  be  surly  and  I  shook  hands  with  him,  and  he 
clapped  me  on  the  shoulder,  still  laughing,  and  declared 
that  it  was  a  piece  of  wit  worthy  of  the  dissecting-room, 
and  that  he  would  jolt  his  fellows  with  it. 

"  I  am  glad  you  are  so  much  pleased,"  I  remarked. 

"Why,  don't  you  think  it's  good,  ejh?  Of  course,  you 
do.  Well,  it's  better  to  part  laughing,  anyway." 

"You  are  not  too  much  of  a  scientist  to  be  a  philos 
opher,"  I  said.  And  I  expected  him  to  continue  his  line  of 
deduction  and  to  say  that  I  was  too  much  of  a  philosopher 
to  be  a  scientist,  but  he  did  not;  he  sobered  and  gravely  re 
marked: 

"Yes,  I  am  devilish  sorry  that  this  thing  came  about, 
and  I  hope  that  Guinea  will  not  take  a  romantic  view  of 
it  I  guess  they'll  be  back  after  a  while,  if  Alf  is  cleared, 


234  THE  JUCKLiNS 

and  from  what  I  hear  I  suppose  he  will  be." 

"May  I  ask  how  your  sister  is?" 

"Certainly.  She's  all  right;  doesn't  eat  much,  but  hei 
pulse  is  normal — little  excited,  but  hardly  noticeable. 
Loves  that  fellow,  doesn't  she?  Strong,  good-looking 
boy,  but  not  very  practical.  Hope  he'll  come  out  all  right 
Ah,  I  was  going  to  say  something,  but  it  has  escaped  me 
Oh,  yes,  you  are  in  love  with  Guinea.  Be  frank,  now." 

"Yes,  I  worship  her." 

"Hardly  the  word,  but  it  will  do,  on  an  impulse.  I  think 
a  good  deal  of  her  myself.  I  said  just  now  that  she  wouldn't 
wipe  her  feet  on  you,  and  I  beg  your  pardon.  She  may 
wipe  them  on  you.  You  are  going  to  stay  here,  eh?  Well, 
come  over  to  the  house.  No  reason  why  there  should  be 
any  ill-will  between  us.  Good-day." 

I  sat  down  on  the  step  and  watched  him  until  he  had 
ridden  out  of  sight,  and  I  was  pleased  that  he  went  toward 
his  home,  not  that  I  was  afraid  of  a  renewal  of  the  engage 
ment;  I  knew  that  it  was  forever  set  aside.  But  I  felt  that 
his  overtaking  the  wagon  would  bring  an  additional 
trouble  to  the  father  and  the  mother;  indeed,  I  was  afraid 
that  the  old  man  might  kill  him.  Strange  fellow  Chyd  was, 
and  I  liked  him  as  an  oddity,  as  something  wholly  different 
from  myself  or  from  any  impulsive  being.  He  was  nctf 
miel — he  simply  had  no  heart. 


1THE  JUCKLI3ST» 


CHAPTER  XVHL 

I  walked  about  the  old  place  until  nearly  noon,  and  them 
I  went  to  town.  The  jailer  met  me  with  a  doubtful  shak 
ing  of  his  scheming  head,  and  I  knew  that  again  he  had 
received  orders  to  be  rigid  in  his  discipline,  but  I  was  re 
solved  that  the  old  rascal's  appetite  for  liquor  should  not 
play  a  second  prank  upon  me;  so  when  he  hinted  at  an 
other  bottle  I  told  him  that  I  had  spent  so  much  of  my 
life  as  a  temperance  lecturer  that  it  was  against  my  con 
science  to  buy  a  favor  with  whisky.  I  looked  steadily  at 
him,  and  he  began  to  wince. 

"Why,  to  be  sure,"  said  he,  "but,  my  dear  sir,  I  didn't 
buy  whisky  with  that  dollar — bought  a  ham  with  it.  If 
I  didn't  Pm  the  biggest  liar  in  the  world;  and  I  don't 
reckon  there's  a  family  in  this  town  that  needs  another 
ham  right  now  worse  than  mine  does." 

"That  may  be,  but  I  can't  afford  to  pay  so  heavy  a  price 
every  time  I  enter  this  place.  You  know  that  I  am  asso 
ciated  with  the  prisoner's  lawyer,  but  we'll  waive  that- 
right — I'll  go  to  the  sheriff  and  get  an  order  from  him." 

"Why,  my  dear  sir,  that's  unnecessary.  Walk  right  in; 
but  remember  your  promise  not  to  say  anything  about 
that  ham.  There  are  a  lot  of  vegetarians  in  this  town,  and 


236  THE  JUCKLIffS 

if  they  hear  of  my  eating  meat  they'll  hold  it  against  me, 
Walk  in,  sir." 

I  found  Alf  in  high  spirits.  Conkwright  had  called  and 
had  asssured  him  that  his  day  of  liberty  was  not  far  off. 
I  told  him  that  the  old  house  was  deserted,  and  he  stood 
musing,  looking  at  me  dreamily,  as  if  his  mind  were 
hovering  over  the  scenes  of  his  boyhood.  I  let  him  dream, 
for  I  knew  the  sweetness  of  a  melancholy  reverie.  Some 
times  the  soul  is  impatient  of  the  body's  dogged  hold  on 
life,  and  steals  away  to  view  its  future  domain,  to  draw 
in  advance  upon  its  coming  freedom — now  lingering,  now 
swifter  than  a  hawk — and  then  it  comes  back  and  we  say 
that  we  have  been  absent-minded.  Alf  started — his  soul 
had  returned.  "And  weren't  you  surprised  to  see  them 
drive  toward  town?"  he  asked. 

"Who,  your  parents  and  Guinea?  They  didn't;  they 
drove  toward  the  railway  station." 

"But  they  came  to  town,  my  dear  boy — were  here  in  this 
jail.  They  must  have  driven  round  to  deceive  you,  for 
they  knew  that  you  would  want  to  come  with  them,  and 
they  deceived  you  to  spare  you  the  pain  of  seeing  us  to 
gether.  And  I'm  glad  you  were  spared,  though  mother 
stood  it  much  better  than  I  expected.  But  this  was  be 
cause  she  firmlv  believes  I'll  be  cleared.  They  haven'i 
been  gone  a  great  while — there's  a  station  not  far  from  this, 
town.  Father  played  another  trick  on  you.  Yesterday, 
when  he  came  to  town  to  deed  over  the  land,  he  left  you 
dozing  in  the  wagon  and  slipped  off  round  here.  I  was 


THE  JUCKLINS 

surprised,  for  I  had  positively  ordered  him  not  to  come. 
But  he  set  me  to  laughing  before  he  got  in.  'Open  that 
door  by  the  order  of  the  sheriff!'  he  cried  at  the  jailer, 
'Here's  the  order;  look  at  it,  but  don't  you  look  at  me. 
Fight  you  in  a  minit.'  And  then  he  came  in,  and  the  first 
thing  he  told  me  was  that  they  had  gaffs  on.  He  said  that 
he  had  fought  hard  to  keep  mother  from  coming,  at  night 
when  the  rest  were  asleep;  and  I  swore  that  she  must  not 
come,  but  she  did.  Bill,  you  brought  me  a  message  that 
sent  me  to  heaven;  and  now  let  me  ask  if  you  know  that 
Guinea  loves  you?  There,  don't  say  a  word — you  know  it. 
She  told  me,  standing  where  you  are  now — told  me  every 
thing,  and  what  a  talker  she  is  when  once  she  is  started. 
But  you  must  let  her  have  her  way,  and  she  will  come  to 
you,  holding  out  her  hands.  Have  you  seen  Millie?" 

"No,  not  since  that  night.    Butj  I  am  going  to  see  her/* 

Then  I  told  him  that  Chyd  had  come  to  the  house— 
I  reproduced  the  scene,  and  Alf's  merriment  rang  through 
out  the  jail. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "you  can  go  over  there  all  right  enough 
The  General  likes  you,  anyway.  I  don't  know  what  he 
thinks  of  me — still  sizes  me  as  a  boy,  I  suppose ;  and  if  he 
were  to  come  in  here  now  I  believe  he  would  ask  me  what 
father  was  doing.  But  it  makes  no  difference  what  he 
thinks.  The  judge  tells  me  that  you  are  going  to  study 
law  with  him.  Jumped  into  an  interesting  case  right  at 
once,  didn't  you?" 

We  talked  a  long  time  and  we  laughed  a  great  deal,  for 


THE  JUCKLIJTS 

we  were  in  a  paradise,  although  in  a  jail.  And  I  left  him 
with  a  promise  that  I  would  soon  bring  him  a  direct  word 
from  Millie. 

I  found  Conkwright  in  his  office,  with  his  slippered  feet 
on  a  table.  He  bade  me  come  in,  and  he  said  nothing 
more,  but  sat  there  pressing  his  closed  eye-lids  with  his 
thumb  and  fore-finger.  How  square  a  chin  he  had  and 
how  rugged  was  his  face,  trenched  with  the  deep  ruts  of 
many  a  combat  His  had  been  a  life  of  turmoil  and  of 
fight.  He  was  not  born  of  the  aristocracy.  I  had  heard 
that  he  was  the  son  of.  a  Yankee  clock  peddler.  But  to 
success  he  had  fought  his  way,  over  many  an  aristocratic 
failure. 

''Judge,  have  you  finally  decided  that  I  may  come  into 
your  office?" 

"Thought  we  settled  that  at  first,"  he  replied,  without 
opening  his  eyes.  "Yes,  you  may  come  in;  glad  to  have 
you,  and,  by  the  way,  I've  got  some  work  I  want  you  to  do 
right  now.  A  woman  was  in  here  to-day  to  see  if  I  could 
get  her  husband  out  of  the  penitentiary.  I  don't  know 
but  I  helped  put  him  there — believe  I  did.  I  was  busy  when 
she  came  in,  and  when  she  went  away  I  remembered  how 
poorly  she  was  dressed,  and  I  am  afraid  that  I  didn't  speak 
to  her  as  kindly  as  I  should  have.  She  lives  at  the  south 
end  of  the  street  behind  the  jail,  left  hand  side,  I  believe. 
Look  in  that  vest  hanging  up  there  and  you'll  find  twenty 
dollars  in  the  pocket,  right  hand  side,  I  think.  Take  the 
money  and  slip  down  to  that  woman's  house  and  give  it  to 


THE  JUCKLINS 

ner.  But  don't  let  anyone  see  you  and  don't  tell  her  who 
sent  it.  Might  tell  her  that  the  State  sent  it  as  wages  due 
for  overtime  put  in  by  her  husband.  And  you  needn't 
come  back  this  evening,  for  it's  time  to  close  up." 

I  looked  back  at  him  as  I  stepped  out.  He  had  not 
changed  his  position  and  his  eyes  were  still  closed.  And 
this  was  my  first  work  as  a  student  of  the  law — a  brave 
beginning,  the  agent  of  a  noble  design.  I  found  the  place 
without  having  to  make  inquiry,  and  a  wretched  hut  it  was. 
The  woman  was  shabby  and  two  ragged  children  were 
lying  on  the  floor.  I  gave  her  the  twenty  dollars — I  did 
more,  I  gave  her  a  part  of  the  money  which  Perdue  had 
given  me.  I  explained  that  her  husband  had  worked 
overtime  and  that  the  State,  following  an  old  custom,  had 
sent  her  the  wages  of  his  extra  labor*  She  was  not  a  very 
good-natured  woman;  she  said  that  the  State  and  the  rest 
of  us  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  ourselves  for  having  robbed 
her  of  her  husband,  and  she  declared  that  if  she  ever  got 
money  enough  she  would  sue  old  Conkwright  and  the 
sheriff  and  everybody  else.  I  was  glad  enough  to  quit 
that  wretched  and  depressing  scene;  and  in  the  cool  of  the 
evening  I  strolled  about  the  town.  The  business  part  of 
the  place  was  mean,  but  further  out  there  were  handsome 
old  residences,  pillared  and  vine-clad.  And  in  front  of 
the  most  attractive  one  I  halted  to  gaze  at  the  trees  and 
the  shrubbery,  dim  in  the  twilight. 

A  boy  came  along1  and  I  asked  him  who  lived  there  and 
he  answered:  "Judge  Conkwright'* 


:HO  THE  JUCKLINS 

"He  deserves  to  live  in  even  a  better  house/'  I  mused,  as 
I  turned  away;  and  just  then  I  was  clapped  upon  the  shoul 
der  with  a  "Helloa,  my  old  friend" — the  telegraph  operator. 
I  shook  hands  with  him,  and  at  'once  he  began  to  tell  me 
of  his  affairs.  ''Getting  along  all  right,"  he  said. 
"Haven't  got  quite  as  much  freedom  as  I  used  to  have, 
but  I  reckon  it's  better  for  me.  Wife  thinks  so  much  of  me 
that  she's  jealous  of  the  boys — don't  want  me  to  stay  out 
with  them  at  night.  Don't  reckon  there's  anything  more 
exacting  than  a  rag.  But  I  had  to  have  one.  Without 
calico  there  ain't  much  real  fun  in  this  life.  But  enough 
of  calico's  society  is  about  the  enoughest  enough  a  man 
can  fetch  up  in  his  mind.  Tell  you  what — I'll  run  on 
home  and  come  back,  and  then  you  can  go  with  me." 

"No,  I  couldn't  think  of  putting  you  to  so  much 
trouble." 

"Won't  be  any  trouble.  Simply  don't  want  to  surprise 
her,  you  know." 

"I'll  call  on  you  before  long,  but  now  I  must  go  to  the 
tavern." 

"All  right,  and  if  I  can  get  off  I'll  come  over  to  see  you. 
And  I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do  along  about  n  o'clock. 
We'll  go  over  to  Atcherson's  store  with  a  lot  of  fellers 
and  cook  some  eggs  in  the  top  of  a  paste-board  hat  box. 
Ever  cook  them  that  way?  It's  a  world  beater.  Just 
break  the  eggs  in  the  lid  of  the  box  and  put  it  on  the  stove 
and  there  you  are.  Finest  stuff  you  ever  eat.  But  while 
you're  eating  you  mustn't  let  them  tell  that  jug  story. 


THE  JUCKLINS 

Couldn't  eat  a  bite  after  that.    Well,  I  leave  you  here." 

Fearing  that  the  operator's  "rag"  might  fail  in  the 
strict  enforcement  of  the  regulations  that  had  been  thrown 
about  the  night-time  movements  of  her  husband,  that  he 
might  break  out  of  the  circle  of  his  wife's  fondness  and 
call  on  me  at  the  tavern,  I  left  that  place  soon  after  supper 
and  resumed  my  walk  about  the  town.  In  some  distant 
place  where  the  land  was  dry  a  shower  of  rain  had  fallen, 
for  the  air  was  quickened  with  the  coming  of  that  dusty, 
delicious  smell,  that  reminiscent  incense  which  more  than 
the  perfume  of  flower  or  shrub  takes  us  back  to  the  lanes 
and  the  sweet  loitering  places  of  youth.  Happiness  will 
not  bear  a  close  inspection;  to  be  flawless  it  must  be 
viewed  from  a  distance — we  must  look  forward  to  some 
thing  longed  for,  or  backward  to  some  time  remembered ; 
and  my  happiness  on  this  night  was  not  perfect,  for  a  sense 
of  loneliness  curdled  it  with  regret,  but  here  and  there,  as 
I  walked  along,  I  found  myself  in  an  ecstasy — my  nerves 
thrilled  one  another  like  crossed  wires,  electrified.  I  knew 
that  it  might  be  a  long  time  before  I  should  hear  from 
Guinea,  but  I  was  still  drunk  with  the  newness  of  the 
feeling  that  she  loved  me. 

Prayer-meeting  bells  were  ringing,  and  old  men  and  old 
women  came  out  of  the  dark  shadow  of  the  trees,  into  the 
light  that  burned  in  front  of  a  church — hearts  that  with 
age  were  slow  and  heavy,  praying  for  the  blessing  of  an 
Infinite  Mystery.  I  entered  the  church  and  knelt  down 
to  pray,  for  I  am  not  so  advanced  a  thinker  as  the  man 


JUCKLINS 

who  questions  the  existence  of  God;  but  I  must  admit 
that  my  thoughts  were  faraway  from  the  mumblings  that 
I  heard  about  me,  far,  indeed,  from  the  mutterings  of  my 
own  lips ;  and  so  I  went  out  and  sniffed  the  prayer  of  na 
ture,  the  smell  of  rain  that  came  from  far  off  down  the 
dusty  road. 

Early  the  next  morning  I  went  to  Conkwright's  office, 
to  tell  him  that  for  a  time  I  preferred  to  study  in  the 
country.  The  old  man  was  walking  up  and  down  the 
room,  with  his  hands  behind  him. 

"Did  you  find  that  woman?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,  and  I  let  no  one  see  me." 

"Good.  You  gave  her  the  twenty  dollars,  and — is  that 
all  you  gave  her?" 

"Why,  that  was  all  you  told  me  to  give  her." 

"Yes,  I  know,  but  didn't  you  give  her  some  of  your 
own  money?  Speak  out  now.  No  shilly-shallying  with 
me." 

"Well,  she  was  so  wretched  that  I  gave  her  five  dollars 
of  my  own  money." 

"You  did,  eh?  The  money  you  borrowed  from  me,  you 
mean?" 

"No,  money  that  old  Perdue  thinks  I  earned.  He  in 
sisted  upon  my  taking  twenty-five  dollars." 

"It's  all  right,  my  boy.  Yes,  it's  all  right,  but  you'll  have 
to  be  more  careful.  It  is  noble  to  give,  but  it  is  not  wise 
to  look  for  an  opportunity.  It  is  better  to  give  to  the 
young  than  to  the  old,  for  the  good  we  do  the  youth 


THE  JUCKL1NS  248 

grows  with  him  into  a  hallowed  memory — stimulates  him 
to  help  others — while  the  memory  of  the  aged  is  fitful. 
Whenever  you  see  a  boy  trying  to  amount  to  something, 
help  him,  for  that  is  a  direct  good,  done  to  mankind.  Now 
to  business.  Have  you  read  Blackstone?" 

"Yes,  but  not  thoroughly.  I  have  never  owned  his 
book." 

"There  he  is  on  my  desk.  I  keep  him  near  me.  The 
lawyer  who  outgrows  that  book — well,  I  may  be  an  old 
fogy  on  the  subject,  so  I'll  say  nothing  more  except  to 
commend  the  treatise  to  a  lawyer  as  I  would  the  multipli 
cation  table  to  a  student  of  mathematics.  And  now  let 
me  say  that  when  you  have  been  with  me  one  year  we 
will  begin  to  talk  about  other  matters,  the  question  of 
money,  for  instance.  Don't  be  extravagant — don't  give 
money  because  you  don't  know  what  else  to  do  with  it — - 
and  I  will  see  that  you  shall  not  want  for  anything.  Oh, 
yes,  I  know  you  are  thinking  of  getting  married,  but  it 
won't  cost  much  to  keep  your  wife.  We'll  fix  all  that, 
and  if  I  don't  make  a  lawyer  out  of  you  I  am  much  fooled. 
You  are  in  love  and  are  mighty  sappy  just  at  present,  but 
you'll  come  round  all  right;  yes,  sir,  all  right  after  a 
while." 

"I  think,  Judge,  that  I  can  study  much  better  out  at  the 
old  houie,  and  if  you  have  nothing  for  me  to  do  I  should 
like  to  spend  several  days  at  a  time  out  there." 

"Why,  is  that  the  way  to  assist  me?  What  go.id  can 
you  do  me  by  poking  off  out  there  in  the  woods  J  Well, 


244  THE  JUCKLINS 

you  may  for  a  while.  Three  days  a  week  for  a  time,  eh? 
All  right.  You  are  as  hard  to  break  in  as  a  steer.  What 
about  those  stories  you  told  at  the  General's  house.  I  hear 
that  they  were  great.  But  don't  let  people  put  you  down  as 
a  story  teller,  for  when  a  lawyer  gets  that  reputation,  nc 
matter  how  profound  he  may  be,  the  public  looks  upon 
him  as  a  yarn-spinner,  rather  than  a  thinker.  You  might 
put  them  in  print,  but  not  under  your  own  name.  Bill- 
came  within  one  of  calling  you  Billy — a  great  many  men 
succeed  in  law  not  because  they  are  bright,  but  because 
they  are  stupid.  I  never  see  a  jackass  that  I  don't  think 
of  a  judge — some  judges  that  I  know.  Well,  now,  the 
first  and  one  of  the  most  important  things  to  do  is  to  go 
over  to  that  tailor  and  have  yourself  measured  for  a  suit 
of  clothes.  Did  I  say  measured?  Surveyed  is  the  word," 
he  added,  looking  at  me  from  head  to  foot  and  then  laugh 
ing.  "Yes,  I  think  that's  the  word.  Well,  go  on  now." 

When  the  tailor  had  completed  his  "survey"  I  went  to 
the  jail,  talked  for  a  few  moments  with  Alf  and  then 
straightway  rode  to  the  General's  house.  The  old  man 
was  sitting  on  the  porch,  with  one  foot  resting  on  a  pillow, 
placed  upon  a  chair.  "Get  down  and  come  right  in !"  he 
shouted;  and  as  I  came  up  the  steps  he  motioned  me  away 
from  him  and  said:  "Don't  touch  that  hoof,  if  you  please. 
Buttermilk  gout,  sir.  Look  out,  you'll  tip  something 
over  on  me.  It's  a  fact — every  time  I  drink  buttermilk 
it  goes  to  my  foot.  Too  much  acid.  How  are  you  Any 
way  ?" 


THE  JUCKLINJS  245 

He  cautiously  reached  out  his  hand  and  jerked  it  away 
when  I  had  merely  touched  it.  "Didn't  sleep  a  wink  last 
night;  and  every  dog  in  the  county  came  over  here  to  bark. 
I  am  very  glad  you  have  called;  glad  that  you  are  too 
liberal  to  hold  a  foolish  resentment.  And  the  old  folks  are 
gone.  'Od  'zounds,  the  way  things  do  turn  out.  The 
first  thing  I  know  I'll  swear  myself  out  of  the  church.  It 
was  my  pride,  sir — but  by  all  the  virtues  that  man  has 
grouped,  must  we  apologize  for  our  pride?  Hah,  sir!  Must 
I  grovel  and  beg  pardon  because  I  honor  my  own  name? 
I'll  see  myself  blistered  first.  It  wasn't  old  Lim's  fault. 
Confound  it  all,  it  wasn't  anybody's  fault.  Then,  sir,  must 
I  go  crawling  around  on  my  belly  like  a — like  a — like  an 
infernal  lizard,  sir?  I  hope  not.  But  it  will  come  out  all 
right,  I  think.  After  Alf  is  cleared  the  old  people  will 
come  back  and  all  will  be  well  again.  What  do  you 
want?" 

A  negro  boy  had  poked  his  head  out  of  the  hall  door  and 
was  looking  on  with  a  broad  grin.  "Dinner!"  cried  the 
old  man.  "But  is  that  the  way  to  announce  it — grinning 
like  a  cat?  Come  back  here.  Now  what  do  you  want?" 

"Dinner  is  ready,  sah,"  said  the  boy. 

"Well,  that's  all  right.  But  don't  come  round  here  grin 
ning  at  me.  Hand  me  that  stick.  Oh,  I'm  not  going  to  hit 
you  with  it.  Come,  Mr.  Hawes.  No,  I  don't  want  you  to 
help  me.  I  can  hobble  along  best  by  myself." 

Millie  was  in  the  dining-room,  and  she  turned  to  run 
when  she  saw  me,  but  the  old  man  hobbled  into  her  way, 


^46  THE  JUCKLIKS 

so  she  came  toward  me  with  reddening  face,  and  held 
out  her  hand.  "I  am  glad  to  see  you,"  she  said.  "Sit  over 
here,  please.  That's  Chyd's  seat  and  he's  so  particular." 

The  son  came  in,  said  that  he  was  pleased  to  see  me, 
sat  down,  opened  a  pamphlet  that  looked  like  a  medical 
journal  and  began  to  read. 

"Mr.  Hawes,"  said  the  General,  "I  understand  that  you 
have  "made  arrangements  to  study  law  with  Judge  Conk- 
wright.  And  a  most  fortunate  arrangement,  I  should 
think.  Smart  old  fellow,  sir;  smart,  and  a  good  man  to 
have  on  your  side,  but  a  mighty,  bad  man  to  have  against 
you — half  Yankee  by  parentage  and  whole  Yankee  by 
instinct.  Millie,  is  that  cat  under  the  table?" 

"I  think  not,  father,"  the  girl  answered,  after  looking  to 
see  if  the  cat  were  there;  but  this  did  not  satisfy  the  old 
man.  "You  must  know,  not  think,"  he  said.  "There 
should  be  no  doubt  about  the  matter,  for  I  must  tell  you 
that  if  he  touches  my  foot  I'll  kill  him.  A  cat  would  travel 
ten  miles  and  swim  a  river — and  a  cat  hates  water — to  claw 
a  gouty  foot.  Chyd,  just  put  that  book  aside  if  you 
please." 

The  young  man  folded  the  pamphlet  and  shoved  it  into 
his  pocket.  "I've  struck  a  new  germ  theory,"  he  said. 

"Yes,"  replied  the  General,  "and  you'll  strike  a  good 
many  more  of  them  as  you  go  on.  I  should  think  that 
you  want  facts,  not  theories." 

"But  theories  lead  to  facts,"  the  young  man  rejoined. 
"The  theory  of  to-day  may  become  the  scientific  truth  of 


THE  JUCKLINS  247 

to-morrow." 

"And  it  may  also  be  the  scientific  error  of  the  day  after 
to-morrow,"  I  remarked. 

He  looked  at  me,  spoke  a  word  which  I  did  not  catch 
and  then  was  silent,  seeming  to  have  forgotten  what  he 
had  intended  to  say.  I  think  that  the  word  he  uttered 
was  "hah,"'  or  something  to  indicate  that  he  had  paid  but 
slight  heed  to  my  remark.  I  did  not  repeat  it,  and  the 
talk  fell  away  from  the  germ  theory. 

"Now,  Mr.  Hawes,"  said  the  General,  "I  want  you  to 
help  yourself  just  as  if  you  were  alone  at  your  own  board. 
It  is  a  pleasure  to  have  you  with  us,  and  an  additional 
pleasure  to  know,  sir,  that  you  are  to  become  a  permanent 
citizen  of  this  county.  Men  may  think  themselves  wise 
when  they  apprentice  their  sons  to  a  trade,  averring  that 
the  professions  are  overcrowded,  but  that  has  always 
been  the  case,  and  yet,  professional  men  have  ever  been 
the  happiest,  for  they  achieve  the  most,  not  in  the  gather 
ing  of  money,  but  in  the  uplifting  of  mankind.  My  daugh 
ter,  you  don't  appear  to  be  eating  anything.  I  hope  that 
you  have  not  permitted  the  timely,  though  unexpected, 
visit  of  Mr.  Hawes  to  affect  your  appetite.  Chydister,  an 
other  piece  of  this  mutton?  Most  nutritious,  I  assure  you ; 
a  fact,  however,  which  is,  no  doubt,  well  known  to  you. 
Mr.  Hawes,  I  should  think  that  you  would  prefer  to  sleep 
here  at  night,  rather  than  to  stay  alone  in  that  old  house. 
You  are  more  than  welcome  to  a  room  here,  sir.  And  I 
should  like  to  hear  anecdotes  of  ycmr  grandfather,  the 


THE  JUCKLIKS 

Captain" 

"I  shall  be  in  the  country  but  a  part  of  the  time 
during  the  week,  and  my  coming  and  going  will  be  irreg 
ular.  But  for  this  I  should  gladly  accept  your  generous 
offer.  As  to  my  grandfather,  I  must  admit  that  I  know 
but  little  regarding  his  life." 

"A  sad  error  in  your  bringing  up,  sir.  In  that  one  par 
ticular  we  Americans  are  shamefully  at  fault.  A  buncombe 
democracy  has  insisted  that  it  is  not  essential  to  look  back, 
but  simply  to  place  stress  upon  our  present  force  and  con 
sequence.  That  is  a  self-depreciation,  a  half-slander  of 
one's  self.  Of  course,  it  is  not  just  to  despise  a  man  who  has 
no  ancestry,  but  it  is  a  crime  not  to  honor  him  if  he  has 
a  worthy  lineage." 

And  thus  he  talked  until  the  rest  of  us  sat  back  from 
the  table,  and  then,  gripping  his  cane  and  getting  up,  he 
said  that  he  would  like  to  talk  to  me  privately  in  the  li 
brary.  Upon  entering  the  room  he  rilled  a  clay  pipe,  handed 
it  to  me,  gave  me  a  lighted  match,  filled  a  pipe  for  himself, 
and  then  lay  down  upon  an  old  horse-hair  sofa.  I  placed 
a  cushion  for  his  foot  and  he  raised  up  and  bowed  to  me. 
"I  thank  you,  sir,"  he  said.  "I  don't  believe  that  Chyd 
would  have  thought  of  that.  I  believe  that  he  will  make 
of  himself  one  of  the  finest  of  physicians,  but  a  man  may  be 
a  successful  doctor  and.  yet  a  thoughtless  and  an  indifferent 
companion.  You  will  please  put  the  right  construction 
upon  what  may  appear  as  an  over-frankness  on  my  part, 
for  the  fact  is  I  have  never  regarded  you  as  a  stranger;  and 


THE  JUCKLIN8 

I  feel  that  what  I  say  to  you  will  go  no  further." 

He  was  silent  and  I  nodded  to  him,  waiting  for  him  to 
continue.     He  moved  his  shoulders  as  if  to  work  him 
self  into  an  easier  position,   and  then  he  resumed  his 
talk.     "Of  my  own  volition  I  would  not  have  gone  over 
to  Jucklin's  house  to  break  that  engagement — I  would 
have  waited — but  my  son  told  me  to  go,  and  after  I  had 
gone,  why,  of  course,  I  had  to  act  my  part.    But  it  was 
simply  acting,  for  my  heart  was  not  in  it.    And  I  tell  you, 
sir,  that  if  old  Lim  had  wiped  his  bloody  hands  in  my  face 
I  would  not  have  struck  him.    Chydister  is  proud,  but  his 
pride  and  mine  are  not  of  the  same  sort.    With  him  every 
thing  must  bear  upon  his  future  standing  as  a  physician, 
and  to  me  that  has  too  much  the  color  of  business.    I  ad 
mit  that  I  was  grieved  to  discover  that  my  daughter  was 
in  love  with  Alf.    I  don't  say  that  he  is  not  morally  worthy 
of  her  or  of  any  young  woman,  but  he  is  poor  and  is  in 
differently  educated,  with  no  prospects  save  a  life  of  hard 
work.    And  I. don't  believe  that  I  need  to. apologize  for  de 
siring  to  see  my  daughter  well  situated.     Now,  my  son 
regrets  the  step  which  he  took  and  which  he  urged  me  to 
fake,  and  at  the  earliest  moment  he  will  renew  the  engage 
ment.    I  think  almost  as  much  of  Guinea  as  I  do  of  my  own 
daughter.     Although  she  is  a  country  girl,  who  has  led 
a  most  simple  life,  I  hold  her  a  remarkable  woman — an 
original  and  a  thinking  woman,  sir.     And  now  what  1 
request  you  to  do  is  this — soften  her  resentment,  if  you 
can.    There  are  matches  at  the  corner  of  the  mantelpiece.'5 


250  THE  JUCKLINS 

My  pipe  was  out.  I  lighted  it,  and  did  not  resume  my 
seat,  but  stood  looking  at  him. 

"General,"  said  I,  "Guinea  will  never  marry  your  son." 

"The  devil  you  say!  Pardon  me.  I  didn't  mean  to  be 
so  abrupt.  But  why  do  you  think  she  will  not  marry  him?" 

"General,  it  is  now  your  turn  to  pardon  me,  sir.  She 
is  to  be  married  by  a  man  who  worships  her,  not  a  scientist, 
but  a  man  with  a  heart — she  is  going  to  be  my  wife." 

The  old  man  sprang  up  and  in  a  moment  he  stood  facing 
me.  There  was  a  footstep  at  the  door  and  Chydister  en 
tered  the  room. 

"Go  ahead  with  your  emotional  oratory,  but  pardon  me 
while  I  look  for  my  stethoscope,"  he  said.  "I  want  to  see 
what  effect  an  hour's  run  will  have  on  the  hearts  of  a 
hound  and  an  ordinary  cur." 

"Sir!"  cried  his  father,  turning  upon  him,  "this  is  no 
time  to  talk  of  the  hearts  of  hounds  and  curs.  The  hearts 
of  men  are  at  stake." 

"That  so?    What's  up?" 

"What's  up,  indeed,  sir?  This  man  says  that  Guinea 
Jucklin  will  not  marry  you." 

"Yes,  so  he  told  me.  Now  I  almost  know  that  I  put  that 
thing  right  up  here." 

"  'Zounds,  man,  will  you  listen  to  me!" 

"Yes,  sir,  go  ahead.  He  says  she  won't  marry  me. 
That's  his  opinion,  undemonstrated — a  mere  assertion;  he 
has  given  me  no  proof." 

"Ah,  have  you  any  proof,  Mr.  Hawes?"  the  old  man 


THE  JUCKLIKS  251 

asked. 

"I  have,  but  it  cannot  very  well  be  set  forth  in  words; 
and  with  much  respect  for  you,  General,  I  must  say  that 
I  prefer  not  to  illustrate  it." 

"You  see  it's  rather  vague,  father.  Let  me  ask  if  she 
has  said  positively  that  she  will  be  your  wife?" 

"Her  lips  may  have  made  no  promise  beyond  a  figure 
of  speech,  and  yet  her  heart " 

"Ah,  more  vague  than  ever,"  the  young  man  broke  in, 
looking  at  his  father  as  if  he  were  impatient  to  get 
away.  "I  must  have  left  it  somewhere  else,"  he  added,  and 
the  old  General  frowned  upon  him. 

"Chydister,  if  you  lose  that  woman  it  is  your  own  fault." 

"Well,  no,  I  can  hardly  agree  with  you  there,  father. 
If  I  lose  her  it  will  the  fault  of  circumstances.  Are  you 
done  with  me?" 

"Yes,  you  can  go,"  said  the  General.  He  stooped, 
reached  back  for  the  lounge  and  laboriously  stretched 
himself  upon  it.  Chyd  went  out  and  I  remarked  that  it 
was  time  for  me  to  go.  The  old  man  made  no  reply,  seem 
ing  not  to  have  heard  me,  but  as  I  turned  toward  the  door 
he  raised  up  and  said: 

"I  would  be  a  fool,  sir,  to  blame  you;  and  I  trust  that 
you  will  not  blame  me  for  hoping  that  you  are  mistaken." 

He  lay  down  again,  and  I  left  him.  Millie  was  stand 
ing  at  the  gate  when  I  went  out,  and  she  pretended  not  to 
see  me  until  I  had  passed  into  the  road,  and  then,  with 
the  manner  of  a  surprise,  she  said:  "Oh,  I  didn't  think 


252  T^E  JUCKLINS 


you  were  going  so  soon  —  thought  you  and  father  were 
having  an  argument.  Do  you  see  —  see  him  very  often?" 

There  was  a  tremulous  tenderness  in  her  voice,  and  I 
knew  that  there  were  tears  in  her  eyas,  au^  T  looked  far 
away  down  the  road,  as  I  stood  there  with  £he  gate  be 
tween  us, 

"I  have  seen  him  every  day,"  I  answered. 

"And  does  he  look  wretched  and  heart-broken?" 

"No,  he  is  happy,  for  he  knows  that  you  love  him." 

She  caught  her  breath  with  a  sob  and  I  looked  far  away 
down  the  road. 

"You  told  him  —  told  him  that  I  did.  And  I  am  so 
thankful  to  you  ;  I  would  do  anything  for  you.  I  dream  of 
him  all  the  time,  and  I  see  you  with  him.  How  terrible  it 
is,  shut  up  there  and  the  sun  is  so  bright  for  everyone  else. 
Sometimes  I  go  into  the  closet  and  stay  there  in  the  dark, 
for  then  I  am  nearer  him.  When  will  you  see  him  again?" 

"I  am  going  back  to  town  to-morrow." 

"Will  you  please  give  him  this?" 

I  reached  forth  my  hand  and  upon  my  palm  she  placed 
a  locket. 

"I  know  that  if  you  study  law,  Mr.  Hawes,  you  will  get 
him  out.  You  are  so  strong  that  you  can  do  most  any 
thing.  Good-bye,  and  when  you  write  to  Guinea,  send  her 
my  love." 


THE  JUCKLINS 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Four  weeks  passed  and  heavy  were  the  days  with 
anxiety,  for  I  had  received  no  word  from  Guinea.  I 
thought  of  a  hundred  causes  that  must  have  kept  her  from 
writing,  but,  worst  of  all,  I  feared  that  she  had  written 
and  that  the  letter  had  gone  astray. 

One  afternoon,  having  thrown  my  book  asifle,  weary  of 
causes,  reasonings  and  developments  of  law,  I  sat  on  a 
rock  near  the  spring,  musing,  wondering,  when  suddenly 
I  sprang  to  my  feet,  with  Guinea  in  my  mind,  with  Guinea 
before  me,  I  thought.  But  this  was  only  for  an  instant.  A 
young  deer  came  down  the  path,  gracefully  leaping,  and 
my  mind  flew  back  to  the  time  when  I  had  first  seen  her 
running  down  that  shining  strip  of  hard-beat  earth.  Yes, 
it  was  a  deer,  and  it  ran  down  the  brook,  and  presently 
I  heard  the  hounds  yelping  in  the  woods.  I  returned  to  my 
room  and  again  I  strove  to  study,  but  the  logical  phrasing 
was  harsh  to  me,  and  I  threw  down  the  book.  I  would 
fish  in  the  pools  that  lay  along  the  stream  toward  the  mill. 
The  ground  in  the  yard  and  about  the  barn  was  so  dry  that 
I  could  find  no  angle  worms,  and  I  decided  to  dig  in  the 
damp  moss-land  near  the  spring.  The  hoe  struck  a  hard 
substance  and  out  came  something  bright.  I  stooped  to 


2&4  THE  JtTCKLIKS 

examine  it,  and  at  first  I  thought  that  it  was  silver,  but  it 
was  not — it  was  mica.  I  scraped  off  the  moss  and  the  thin 
strata  of  earth,  and  there  I  found  a  great  bed  of  the  ore. 
I  dug  deeper  and  it  came  up  in  chunks,  and  it  was  fine  and 
flawless.  My  reading  taught  me  that  it  was  valuable,  and 
I  was  rejoiced  to  find  that  it  was  on  my  own  land.  I  got 
out  as  much  as  I  could  carry — indeed,  I  filled  a  trunk  with 
it,  and  then  carefully  replaced  the  moss,  smoothed  it  down 
and  made  it  look  as  if  it  had  not  been  displaced.  My 
blood  tingled  with  excitement  and  I  was  afraid  that  some 
one  might  have  seen  me.  I  took  the  trunk  to  my  room  and 
split  off  thin  sheets  of  the  mica,  and  the  more  I  looked  at 
it  the  more  I  was  thrilled  at  the  prospect  that  now  lay, 
not  in  the  future,  but  under  my  touch.  And  I  was  not 
long  in  resolving  upon  a  course  to  pursue.  I  remembered 
that  into  our  neighborhood  had  come  from  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  a  large  stove  with  mica  in  the  doors,  and  I  thought 
it  would  be  wise  to  take  my  trunk  to  that  city  and  by  ex 
hibiting  its  contents  induce  some  one  to  buy  the  mine. 
I  hastened  to  town,  after  hiding  the  trunk,  and  told  Conk- 
wright  and  Alf  that  unexpected  business  called  me  away 
for  a  few  days,  and  then  I  returned  home  and  hired  a  man 
to  drive  me  to  the  railway  station,  I  was  afraid  to  trust 
the  trunk  out  of  my  sight,  but  I  had  to  let  the  baggage  man 
take  it,  but  I  charged  him  to  be  particular  with  it,  telling 
him  that  it  was  full  of  iron  ore.  He  gave  it  a  jerk  and 
declared  that  it  must  be  full  of  lead.  When  I  had  come 
into  that  community  I  fancied  that  the  train  was  on  wings, 


THE  JtrCKLINS 

but  now  it  appeared  to  be  crawling.  Night  came  and  ! 
was  afraid  that  robbers  might  assail  the  train  and  expose 
my  secret;  but  at  last  I  reached  Nashville,  and  then  came 
a  worry.  How  was  I  to  find  the  man  who  had  made  the 
stove?  I  took  my  trunk  to  a  hotel,  wrapped  a  chunk  of  the 
mica  in  a  handkerchief  and  set  out  to  look  for  a  stove 
dealer.  I  soon  found  a  hardware  establishment,  and  in 
I  walked  with  the  hardened  air  of  business,  and  asked 
for  the  proprietor.  A  pleasant-looking  man  came  for 
ward,  and  I  asked  him  what  mica  was  worth.  He  looked 
at  me  sharply  and  answered  that  he  was  not  thoroughly 
informed  as  to  the  state  of  the  market,  but  that  he  thought 
it  was  worth  all  the  way  from  five  to  twenty-five  dollars  a 
pound.  "But  mica  of  the  first  quality  is  scarce,"  said  he, 
and  then  he  asked  if  I  wanted  to  buy  mica. 

"No,  sir,  I  want  to  sell  it.    Is  this  of  good  quality?' 

I  unwrapped  the  handkerchief  and  his  eyes' stuck  out  in 
astonishment.  "Where  did  you  get  it?"  he  asked. 

"Off  my  land  in  North  Carolina." 

"Have  you  very  much  of  it?"  he  asked,  scaling  off  thin 
sheets  with  his  knife. 

"Tons  of  it." 

"You  don't  say  so !  Then  you've  got  a  fortune.  We  are 
not  very  large  manufacturers  and  don't  use  a  great  deal. 
How  much  did  you  bring  with  you?" 

"Only  a  trunk  full." 

"Well,  I  guess  we  can  take  that  much.    Bring  it  around." 

I  did  so,  and  I  could  scarcely  believe  that  I  had  correctly 


THE  JUCKLliNS 

caught  his  words  when  he  offered  me  five  hundred  dollars4 
though  now  I  know  that  he  paid  me  much  less  than  it  was 
worth.  He  talked  a  long  time  with  his  partner,  and  then 
came  back  to  me  with  the  money,  asked  my  name  and  a 
number  of  other  questions.  "Young  man,"  said  he,  "if 
we  had  the  ready  means  we  would  buy  that  mine,  but  we 
haven't.  Now,  I  tell  you  what  you  do :  Take  a  sample — 
this  piece — and  go  at  once  to  Chicago.  I  know  of  some 
capitalists  there  who  are  making  large  investments  in  the 
South,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  will  be  pleased  to 
make  you  an  offer  for  your  property.  Here,  I'll  write 
their  names  on  a  card.  To  tell  you  the  truth,  we  are  to 
some  extent  interested  with  them.  Now,  don't  show  this 
sample  to  anyone  else,  but  go  straight  to  Clarm  &  Ging, 
Rookery  building,  Chicago.  Anybody  can  tell  you  where 
it  is.  Here's  the  card.  We'll  telegraph  them  that  you  are 
coming,  so  you  are  somewhat  in  honor  bound,  you  under 
stand,  not  to  go  elsewhere — we  have  in  some  degree  sealed 
the  transaction  with  a  part  purchase,  you  see." 

I  walked  out  of  that  house,  dazed,  bewildered  with  my 
own  luck.  And  I  took  passage  on  the  first  train  for  Chi 
cago.  If  money  could  clear  Alf,  he  would  now  be  cleared, 
and  proudly  I  mused  over  the  great  difference  that  I  would 
make  between  his  first  and  his  last  trial.  But  during  all 
this  time  I  was  conscious  of  a  heaviness — the  silence  of 
Guinea. 

The  train  reached  Chicago  at  morning.  And  now  I 
was  in  the  midst  of  a  whirl  and  a  roar — a  canfused  Lai  • 


THE  JUCKL1NS 

bling  at  the  base  of  Babel's  tower.  And  as  I  walked  up  a 
street  I  thought  that  a  tornado  had  broken  loose  and  that 
I  was  in  the  center  of  it.  I  called  a  hackman,  for  my  read 
ing  taught  me  what  to  do,  and  I  told  him  to  drive  me  to  the 
Rookery.  He  rattled  away  and,  came  within  one  of  being 
upset  by  other  vehicles,  and  I  yelled  at  him  to  be  more  par 
ticular,  but  on  he  went,  paying  no  attention,  to  me.  After 
a  while  he  drew  up  in  front  of  a  building  as  big  as  a  lopped- 
off  spur  of  a  mountain  range;  and  when  I  got  out  I  found 
that  the  vitals  of  the  hurricane  had  shifted  with  me,  for  the 
roar  and  the  confusion  was  worse,  was  gathering  new 
forces.  But  no  one  laughed  at  me,  no  one  pointed  me 
out,  and  I  really  felt  quite  pleased  with  myself — a  school 
teacher,  a  lawyer's  assistant,  expected  by  a  capitalist!  I 
went  under  a  marble  arch-way,  and  asked  a  man  if  he 
knew  Clarm  &  Ging,  and  he  pointed  to  an  elevator — I 
knew  what  it  was — and  shouted  a  number.  I  got  in  and 
was  shot  to  the  eighth  floor.  I  knocked  at  a  door,  but  no 
one  opened  it.  There  was  no  bell  to  ring,  so  I  knocked 
louder  and  still  no  one  opened  the  door.  This  was  hardly 
the  courtesy  that  I  expected.  But  while  I  was  standing 
there  a  man  came  along  and  went  in  without  knocking. 
I  thought  that  he  must  be  one  of  the  men  I  was  looking 
for,  and  I  followed  him,  but  he  simply  looked  round  after 
going  in  and  then  went  out  again  without  saying  anything. 
I  saw  a  man  sittting  at  a  desk,  and  I  handed  him  the 
card  which  the  hardware  dealer  had  given  me.  He  looked 
at  it  and  said:  "Yes,  you  are  Hawes,  eh?  Where's  your 


tt-HE  JUCKLIN8 

mica." 

I  gave  it  to  him,  and  he  looked  at  it  closely  through  a 
microscope.  "How  deep  have  you  gone?" 

"Not  more  than  six  inches." 

"That  so?    Much  of  this  size?" 

"Train  loads,  I  should  think." 

"Ah,  hah.    How  much  land  does  it  cover?" 

"Don't  know  exactly.    Haven't  investigated." 

And  this  question  set  me  to  thinking.  The  mine  was 
well  on  my  land,  but  it  might  spread  out  beyond  my  lines. 
It  was  important  that  I  should  buy  several  acres  surround 
ing  the  stretch  of  moss,  and  I  decided  to  do  this  immedi 
ately  upon  my  return  home. 

"Let's  see,"  said  the  capitalist.  "This  is  Friday.  Mr. 
Clarm  is  out  of  town  and  will  not  be  back  until  Monday — 
has  a  summer  home  in  St.  Jo,  Mich.,  and  is  over  there.  It's 
just  across  the  lake.  Suppose  we  go  over  there  to-morrow 
morning.  Boat  leaves  at  nine.  Be  a  pleasant  trip.  All 
right." 

He  resumed  his  work  as  if  my  acceptance  of  his 
proposition  was  a  foreshadowed  necessity.  "How  did  you 
happen  to  find  it?"  he  asked,  without  looking  up  from  his 
work. 

"I  was  digging  for  angle  worms." 

He  grunted.  "Didn't  find  any  worms,  did  you?" 

"No,  I  don't  think  I  did." 

'I  know  you  didn't.  Worms  and  mica  don't  exist  in  the 
same  soil.  Very  rugged?" 


THE  JUCKLINS 

"Rocks  on  eafch  side." 

I  was  determined  to  be  business-like,  not  to  give  him 
information  unless  he  asked  for  it;  and  I  sat  there,  study 
ing  him.  He  was  direct  and  this  pleased  me,  for  it  bespoke 
a  quick  decision.  But  after  a  time  I  grew  tired  of  looking 
upon  his  absorption,  for  his  mood  was  unvarying  cOid  he 
held  one  position  almost  without  change,  so  I  began  to 
walk  about,  looking  at  the  pictures  of  factories  and  of 
mines,  hung  on  the  walls.  The  day  was  hot  and  the  win 
dows  were  up,  and  I  looked  down  on  the  ant-working  in 
dustry  in  the  street.  How  different  from  the  view  that 
lay  out  of  my  window  in  the  old  log  house;  but  I  was  re 
solved  to  draw  no  long  bow  of  astonishment,  for  in  a  man's 
surprise  is  a  reflex  of  his  ignorance. 

"What  business?"  the  capitalist  asked,  still  without  look 
ing  up. 

"None,  you  might  say.  Have  taught  school,  but  of  late 
I  have  employed  my  time  with  studying  law." 

He  looked  round  at  me  and  then  resumed)  his  work.  A 
long  time  passed.  T  heard  his  watch  snap  and  then  he 
got  up. 

"We'll  go  out  and  get  a  bite  to  eat,"  he  said.  "Any  par 
ticular  place?" 

"No,"  I  answered,  pleased  that  he  should  presume  that 
I  was  acquainted  with  the  eating  houses  of  the  town. 

We  stepped  out  into  the  hall  and  he  yelled:  "Down!" 
He  shoved  me  into  an  elevator  among  a  number  of  men 
and  women,  and  though  we  were  all  jammed  together  no 


260  THE  JUCKLINS 

one  appeared  to  notice  me;  but  when  we  got  out  a  boy 
whistled  at  a  companion  and  yelled:  "Hi,  Samson!"  Mr. 
Ging  darted  out  under  the  arch,  and  I  almost  ran  over  him, 
when  he  halted  on  the  sidewalk  to  talk  to  a  man.  They 
walked  along  together  for  quite  a  distance,  nodding  and 
making  gestures,  and  when  they  separated  Ging  said  to 
me  that  he  had  just  bought  a  subdivision  of  real  estate. 
At  this  I  appeared  to  be  pleased,  but  I  was  not;  I  was 
afraid  that  before  the  close  of  the  he  might  entangle  him 
self  in  so  many  transactions  that  he  could  not  afford  to 
pay  cash  for  the  mica  mine.  The  further  we  went  the 
faster  he  walked,  and  suddenly  he  darted  through  a  wall, 
and  the  swinging  doors  came  back  and  slapped  me  in  the 
face.  We  sat  down  to  a  table  and  Mr.  Ging  said  that  I 
might  take  whatever  I  desired,  but  that  he  wanted  only  a 
cup  of  coffee  and  a  piece  of  apple  pie.  I  was  hungry,  had 
eaten  no  breakfast  and  felt  as  if  I  could  devour  a  beef 
steak  as  big  as  a  saddle  skirt,  but  I  said  that  coffee 
and  apple  pie  would  do  me.  He  asked  me  a  number  of 
questions  concerning  the  mine,  its  distance  from  a  rail 
way,  condition  of  the  wagon  roads,  and  especially  did  he 
want  to  know  whether  the  local  tax  assessor  made  it  a 
point  to  discriminate  against  the  non-resident  property 
owner.  I  caught  the  spirit  of  his  quick  utterances,  and 
blew  out  my  words  in  a  splutter,  striving  to  be  business 
like,  but  before  I  could  cover  all  his  points  he  had  eaten 
his  pie  and  was  impatiently  waiting  for  me. 

"Want  to  go  round  to-night?"  he  asked,  and  before  I 


THE  JUCKLl^fc  261 

could  tell  him  that  I  did  want  to  g'O  round,  having  but  :; 
vague  idea  as  to  what  he  meant,  he  added:  "And  if  I  can 
gel:  off  this  afternoon  I'll  take  you  out  to  the  stock-yards." 

"I  would  much  rather  see  your  finest  library,"  I  re 
plied. 

"I  guess  you've  got  me  there;  don't  know  where  it  is,  but 
I  suppose  we  can  find  it  in  the  directory." 

"I  have  read  of  the  Art  Institute  here.  You  know  where 
that  is,  I  presume." 

"Y-e-s — low  building  over  on  the  lake  front.  But  I've 
never  had  time  to  go  into  it.  Well,  suppose  we  get  back 
to  the  office." 

I  raced  with  him,  but  he  beat  me  by  a  neck,  being  more 
accustomed  to  the  track;  and  he  shouted  "Up!"  as  he 
darted  under  the  marble  arch.  I  grabbed  him  and 
held  him  for  a  moment,  told  him  that  I  did  not  care  to 
go  up  again  so  soon,  that  I  would  stroll  about  for  a  time 
and  see  him  after  a  while. 

"Yes,  but  you'll  come  back,  eh?  I  guess  we'll  take  that 
mine  if  we  can  agree  upon  terms.  We  own  one  in  Col 
orado.  Don't  fail  to  come  back.  Up!" 

I  went  out  into  the  center  of  the  maelstrom  and  laughed 
at  him — a  capitalist  keeping  pace  with  indigestion,  racing 
against  time.  Little  wonder  that  he  was  bald  and  pinched. 

I  thought  that  I  would  find  a  leisurely  place  and  slowly 
eat  a  dinner,  and  I  did  find  many  places,  but  none  of  them 
was  leisurely.  I  went  to  a  hotel,  and  there  I  ate  a  meal 
without  running  the  risk  of  having  my  chair  thrown  over, 


262  THE  JUCKLINS 

and  then  I  returned  to  the  Rookery.  Mr.  Ging  was  lost 
in  his  work,  and  in  a  room  which  opened  into  his  apart 
ment  two  girls  were  hammering  a  race  on  writing  ma 
chines.  I  walked  into  this  room,  and  the  girls  went  on  with 
their  work  as  if  I  were  at  home  looking  over  toward  the 
General's  house  instead  of  looking  down  at  them.  A  bell 
tinkled  in  Ging's  room.  One  of  the  girls  went  to  him  and 
I  heard  him  talking  rapidly  to  her,  and  presently  she  came 
back  with  a  pad  of  paper  in  her  hand,  and  furiously  at 
tacked  her  machine.  Ging  rushed  out  into  the  hall  and 
both  machines  stopped,  and  the  girls  began  to  nibble  at 
bon-bons,  but  a  moment  later  they  dashed  at  their  work, 
for  Ging  had  returned.  I  went  back  into  his  room,  and, 
glancing  round,  I  saw  one  of  the  girls  look  up  at  the  ceil 
ing  and  then  down  at  the  floor.  I  knew  that  she  was 
making  fun  of  me,  and  in  my  heart  I  confessed  myself  her 
enemy. 

"I'm  sorry,"  said  Ging,  "but  I  don't  believe  I  can  get  off 
this  afternoon.  Clarm's  being  out  of  town  puts  double 
work  on  me.  But  we'll  go  round  to-night.  You've  been 
here  quite  often,  I  suppose." 

"Well,  not  lately,"  I  replied. 

"No?  Then  we  can  find  a  good  many  things  to  interest 
you." 

I  went  out  again  and  walked  about,  but  I  did  not  venture 
far  beyond  the  shadow  of  the  Rookery,  for  I  knew  that 
should  I  get  turned  round  I  would  be  ashamed  to  inquire 
the  way  back.  I  saw  a  man  standing  on  a  box  selling  pens. 


THE  JUCKL1NS 

He  had  a  most  fluent  use  of  words,  though  I  could  see  that 
he  was  not  educated.  He  interested  his  hearers  with  hu 
morous  stories,  as  if  his  business  were  first  to  enter 
tain  the  public  and  then  to  pick  up  a  living,  and  for  the 
first  time  it  struck  me  that  book-knowledge  did  not  em 
brace  everything,  that  people  who  simply  read  get  but  a 
second-hand  experience.  We  must  observe  form  and  rec 
ognize  the  rules  which  good  taste  has  drawn,  but  after 
all  the  finest  form  and  the  most  nearly  pertect  rule  is  an 
inborn  judgment.  The  merest  accident  may  thrill  a  dull 
man  with  genius.  I  knew  a  young  man  who  was  com 
monplace  until  he  was  taken  down  with  a  fever,  and  when 
he  got  up  his  business  sense  was  gone,  but  he  wrote  a 
parody  that  made  this  country  shout  with  laughter.  Thus 
I  mused  as  I  looked  at  that  fellow  selling  pens.  He  was 
a  rascal,  no  doubt,  but  I  was  forced  to  admire  his  vivid 
fancy,  his  genius. 

When  I  returned  to  the  Rookery  I  found  Ging  wait 
ing  for  me.  "Now,"  said  he,  "we'll  go  out  for  a  while  and 
then  eat  dinner.  Would  you  mind  going  out  about  twelve 
miles?  Train  every  few  minutes.  I've  got  some  real  estate 
that  I'd  like  to  show  you — might  cut  an  important  figure 
in  our  transaction." 

"I  don't  want  it  to  cut  any  figure  in  our  transaction," 
I  replied.  "I  want  to  sell  the  mine  for  money." 

"Yes,  of  course,  but  you  might  double  your  money  on 
the  real  estate." 

"That  may  be  true>  but  I  am  not  a  speculator;  and  if  you 


THE  JFCKLINS 

are  not  prepared  to  pay  money,  why,  it  is  usless  to  waste 
further  time." 

"Of  course.  No  time  has  been  wasted  and  none  shall 
be.  You  may  trust  me  when  it  comes  to  the  question  of 
wasting  time.  I  didn't  know  but  you  might  like  a  home 
out  at  Sweet  Myrtle.  Beautiful  place — gas,  water,  side 
walks,  sewers.  But  if  you  don't  want  to  go,  it's  all  right. 
Let  me  tell  you  right  now  that  we  are  prepared  to  pay 
cash  for  your  mine.  We  represent  millions  in  the  East. 
Well,  we'll  go." 

That  night  we  went  to  a  theater,  and  to  me  Mr.  Ging  was 
a  dull  companion.  He  yawned  and  stretched  through 
Shakspeare's  mighty  play,  while  I" was  in  a  tingling  ec 
stasy.  He  said  that  the  fellow  could  not  act,  and  that 
may  have  been  true,  but  to  me  there  was  no  actor,  but  a 
real  Hamlet;  no  stage,  but*  the  court  at  Elsinore.  He  said 
that  he  would  call  at  the  hotel  in  time  to  catch  the  boat, 
and  I  was  glad  when  he  left  me.  to  iny  own  thoughts.  At 
9  o'clock  the  next  morning  we  went  on  board  a  great 
white  boat,  so  fresh,  so  full  of  interest  to  me  that  I  was 
in  a  state  of  delight,  of  new  expectancy,  and  when  we 
steamed  out  into  the  lake  I  could  scarcely  repress  a  cry 
of  joy  so  thrilling  was  the  view.  I  had  never  seen  a  large 
body  of  water,  had  striven  to  picture  the  majesty  of  a 
wave,  and  now  I  stood  with  poetry  rolling  about  me — now 
a  deep-blue  elegy,  now  a  limpid  lyric,  varying  in  hue  with 
the  shifting  of  a  luminous  fleece-work,  far  above.  To  have 
been  born  and  brought  up  amid  great  scenes  were  sw  ely 


THE  JUCKL1NS  ^65 

a  privilege,  but  to  come  upon  them  for  the  first  time  when 
the  mind  is  ripe,  when  the  senses  are  yearning  for  a  new 
impression,  is  indeed  a  blessing.  Short  were  the  sixty 
miles  of  our  journey,  it  seemed  to  me,  but  Ging  was  bored 
and  impatiently  he  snapped  his  watch,  and  said  that  we 
were  at  least  fifteen  minutes  late.  After  having  lost  all 
view  of  the  land,  how  strangely  novel  was  the  sight  of  the 
shore,  and  to  fancy  myself  in  a  foreign  harbor  was  the  most 
natural  of  conceits. 

At  the  wharf  we  took  a  carriage  and  were  driven  through 
the  town,  out  by  many  a  dreamy  orchard  side,  up  a  bluff- 
banked  river  to  a  large  frame  house,  high  on  a  hill.  Clarm 
was  walking  about  in  the  yard,  and  with  an  ease  and  po 
liteness  which  I  had  not  expected — having  permitted  Ging 
*o  influence  my  preconception  of  his  partner's  character- 
he  shook  hands  with  me  and  invited  me  into  the  house 
The  sample  of  mica  was  closely  inspected,  numerous  ques 
tions  were  asked,  and  after  a  time  Mr.  Clarm  said  that  it 
would  be  well  for  Mr.  Ging  to  go  home  with  me.  I  had 
kept  in  mind  the  determination  to  buy  a  few  more  acres  of 
land,  and  I  knew  that  this  might  not  be  an  easy  transac 
tion  if  Ging  should  accompany  me,  thereby  exciting  a  sus 
picion  in  Parker's  mind,  so  I  replied  that  I  was  not  going 
straightway  home,  being  compelled  by  other  business  to 
stop  for  a  day  in  Kentucky.  "But  it  is,  of  course,  neces 
sary  for  Mr.  Ging  to  see  the  mine,  and  he  can  start  the  day 
*fter  I  leave  and  reach  Purdy  on  the  day  I  arrive,"  I  added. 

They  agreed  to  this,  as  Ging  was  the  principal  in  another 


266  THE  JUCKLINS 

deal  that  must  be  brought  to  a  close;  and  after  declining  an 
invitation  to  dinner,  I  took  my  leave,  feeling  that  I  was 
a  liar,  it  is  true,  but  I  thought  that  my  deception  was  not 
only  pardonable,  but,  indeed,  a  commendable  piece  of  fore 
sight.  I  am  free  to  say  that  a  man,  in  order  to  protect  his 
commercial  interests,  must  be  an  easy  and  a  nimble  liar; 
and  I  do  not  hold  that  a  man  who  permits  himself  to  be 
cheated  simply  that  he  may  snatch  the  chance  to  tell  a 
truth — I  say  that  I  could  not  regard  him  a  prudent  hus 
band  or  a  wise  father.  Divide  the  last  cent  with  a  friend, 
harden  not  thy  heart  against  the  distressed,  but  in  the 
warfare  of  business  seek  to  steal  an  enemy's  advantage. 
It  was  with  this  argument  that  I  sought  to  appease  my 
conscience  as  I  strolled  about  the  town,  but  more  than 
once  I  halted,  thinking  to  tell  them  the  truth.  But  judg 
ment — permit  me  to  term  it  judgment — finally  influenced 
me  to  let  the  false  statement  stand. 

Out  from  the  town  were  numerous  lanes,  soft  with  turf, 
and  with  orchards  on  every  side.  Amid  the  darkened  green 
I  saw  the  yellowing  pear,  the  red  flash  of  the  apple;  and 
from  amid  the  bushes  blackberries  peeped  like  the  eyes  of  a 
deer.  At  the  end  of  a  lane  was  a  deep  ravine,  one  side 
a  grassy  slope,  the  other  a  terraced  vineyard,  and  up  this 
romantic  rent  I  walked,  in  a  Switzerland,  a  France.  On 
the  green  slope  was  a  cottage,  with  a  high  fence  behind 
it,  and  as  I  drew  near  I  thought  that  it  would  be  a  soothing 
privilege  to  enter  the  house  and  talk  with  the  humblfl 
people  who  lived  therein.  Suddenly  there  came  a  shout 


THE  JUCKUNS 

that  sent  a  spurt  of  blood  to  my  heart 

"Hike,  there,  Sam!  Hike,  there,  Bob — hike,  there!" 
I  ran  to  the  fence,  grasped  the  top,  drew  myself  up  and 
looked  over  into  the  small  inclosure;  and  there  was  old 
Lim  Jucklin,  down  on  his  knees,  beating  the  ground  with 
his  hat.  I  let  myself  drop  and  ran  round  the  gale,  opened  it 
without  noise  and  stepped  inside.  The  old  man  now  held 
one  of  the  chickens  by  the  neck  and  was  putting  him  into 
a  coop. 

"Oh,  it  would  suit  you  to  fight  to  a  finish,  wouldn't  it? 
And  you  may,  one  of  these  days,  as  soon  as  I  hear  from 
down  yander.  Git  in  there.  Come  here,  Bob.  You've  got 
to  go  in,  too.  Caught  you  on  the  top-knot,  didn't  he? 
Well,  you  must  learn  to  dodge  better.  Ain't  quite  as  peart 
as  one  of  the  other  Bobs  I,  could  tell  you  about.  Now, 
boys,  you  are  all  right,  but  I  want  you  to  understand- 
well,  since  Moses  hit  the  rock!"  he  cried,  scrambling  to  his 
feet.  "Hold  on,  now,  don't  you  tech  me — don't  know 
whether  you  are  Bill  or  Bill's  ghost.  By  jings,  if  it  ain't 
Bill,  I'm  a  calf's  rennet.  Since  Moses  hit  the  rock !'' 

He  grabbed  me  and  hung  upon  me,  and  I  put  my  arm 
about  him.  "Don't  tell  me  nuthin'  now,  Bill.  Don't  want 
to  hear  a  word,  for  I'm  deefer  than  a  horse  block." 

"You  have  nothing  to  fear,  Mr.  Jucklin.  I  bring  good 
news.  Alf  isn't  out  yet,  but  he  will  be.  I  have  other 

news " 

"But  don't  tell  me.  Deefer  than  a  horse-block.  What 
did  I  do  with  that  d d  handkerchief?  Take  that  bad< 


368  THE  JUCKLINS 

— kiver  to  kiver.  Had  it  in  my  hat  a  minit  ago.  Sand 
from  this  here  lake  shore  gits  in  a  feller's  eyes.  Ain't  got 
used  to  it  yet.  Hope  the  Lord  will  excuse  me  for  cussin' 
like  a  sailor.  Must  have  got  it  from  them  fellers  down  on 
the  lake  shore.  Kiver  to  kiver.  Now  let  us  go  into  the 
house.  Door's  round  there  facin'  the  holler.  Let  me  go  in 
first;  you  stand  outside.  Sand's  blowin'  up  from  the  lake 
and  gits  in  their  eyes,  too.  Ain't  used  to>  it  yet.  Come  on." 

There  were  hollyhocks  in  front  of  the  house  and  among 
them  I  stood  waiting  for  the  old  man  to  open  the  door. 

"Susan,"  he  said,  as  he  stepped  into  the  room,  "this  here 
world — this  one  right  here — is  as  full  of  surprises  as  a 
chicken  is  with — with — I  don't  know  what.  Now,  don't 
you  take  on  none,  but — come  in,  Bill." 

The  old  woman  started  forward  with  a  cry  and  threw 
her  arms  about  me.  "There  now,"  old  Lim  protested, 
wiping  his  eyes,  "don't  take  on  that  way.  Everything's 
all  right.  Set  down  here  now  and  let's  be  sensible.  That's 
it.  Oh,  she's  all  right,  Bill — her  folks  stood  at  the  stake. 
Guinea's  comin'  down  stairs." 

Toward  the  stairway  I  looked,  and  Guinea  stepped  down 
into  the  room.  And  oh,  the  smile  on  her  lips  as  she  came 
toward  me !  But  she  did  not  hold  out  her  hands — she  came 
close  to  me,  and  her  bended  head  almost  touched  me,  but 
her  hands  were  held  behind  her,  clasped,  I  could  see.  "Not 
yet,"  she  said,  looking  up  with  a  smile.  "But  you  must 
not  think  ill  of  me,  must  not  be  provoked.  Let  me  have 
my  whimsical  way  until  my  whole  life  shall  beyoura" 


THE  JUCKLINS 

"She's  talkin'  like  a  book !"  the  old  man  cried.  "Let  her 
talk  like  one,  Bill.  Don't  exactly  grab  her  drift  as  I'd  like 
to,  but  I  know  it's  all  right.  Gracious  alive,  why  don't  you 
women  folks  git  him  something  to  eat?  And,  me,  too,  for 
I'm  as  hungry  as  the  she  bear  that  eat  up  the  children.  I 
wish  you'd  all  set  down.  Turn  him  loose,  Susan.  Ain't 
nothin'  the  matter  with  him — hungry  as  a  wolf,  that's  all. 
Now  we  are  gettin'  at  it." 

With  the  door  open  and  with  a  cool  breeze  blowing, 
with  the  sweetness  of  ripening  fruit  in  the  air,  with  the 
hollyhocks  nodding  at  us,  we  sat  in  that  modest  room,  at 
home  in  a  strange  place.  I  told  them  all  that  had  befallen 
me.  I  gradually  led  up  to  the  discovery  of  the  mine.  "And 
now,"  I  added,  "we  go  back  there,  not  poor,  but  rich. 
There  is  no  telling  how  many  dollars  they  may  give  us." 

"Not  us,  Bill,"  the  old  man  interposed,  slowly  shaking 
his  head;  "not  us,  but  you.  It's  yours,  all  yours.  You 
bought  the  land  and  all  that's  on  it  or  under  it  belongs 
to  you." 

"No,  Mr.  Jucklin,  it  belongs  to  you,  to  Alf  and  to  me. 
There  will  be  enough  for  us  all,  but  no  matter  how  little, 
you  and  Alf  shall  share  it.  I  am  just  beginning  fully 
to  realize  it — but  I  know  that  we  are  rich.  It  is  necessary 
for  me  to  get  back  at  once,"  I  added.  "I'll  have  to  buy 
some  land  from  Parker,  but  I  told  Clarm  &  Ging  that  I 
was  going  to  stop  for  a  day  in  Kentucky.  I  didn't  want 
them  to  know  that  I  intended  to  buy  more  land.  It's  none 
of  their  business,  anyway.  So  I  must  be  in  Purdy  one 


270  THE  JUCKLINS 

day  ahead  of  Ging.  Pve  got  money  with  me  and  well  all 
start  this  evening." 

The  old  man  sadly  shook  his  head.  "I  can't  do  it,  Bill; 
can't  go  back  yet.  If  he  comes  clear,  without  a  scratch  on 
him,  I'll  go  back,  but  if  he  don't  I'll  never  see  that  state 
again.  So  we'll  wait  right  here  till  after  the  next  trial. 
Won't  settle  on  anything  until  then.  You  go  ahead  and 
attend  to  everything  and  let  me  know  how  it  all  comes  out. 
I've  been  scared  ever  since  I  left  there,  afraid  that  I'd  hear 
something  by  some  chance  or  other;  and  I  wouldn't  let 
Guinea  write  to  you.  Every  day  I'd  tell  her  'not  yet'  She 
wanted  to,  but  I  wouldn't  let  her." 

"You  shall  have  your  own  way,  for  I  know  that  every 
thing  will  come  out  right.  Conkwright  says  so,  and  he 
knows.  How  did  you  happen  to  find1  this  place?" 

The  old  man  laughed.  "Well,  sir,  we  got  on  the  train, 
and  when  the  man  asked  where  we  wanted  to  go  I  told  him 
we'd  go  just  as  far  as  he  did,  it  made  no  difference  how  far 
that  might  happen  to  be;  and  every  time  we'd  change  cars 
I'd  tell  the  other  man  the  same  thing.  But  finally  they 
got  so  stuck  up  that  they  wouldn't  let  us  get  on  without 
tickets,  and  at  Louisville  I  bought  tickets  for  Chicago.  I 
didn't  know  what  to  do  when  I  got  to  Chicago — didn't 
know  what  to  do  when  I  got  to  any  place,  for  that  matter; 
but  we  poked  around,  gettin'  a  bite  to  eat  every  once  in  a 
while,  and  slept  in  the  slambangin'est  place  I  ever  saw. 
The  lake  caught  me,  and  I  found  out  how  soon  the  first 
boat  went  out,  and  we  got  on  her  and  here  we  are.  When 


THE  JUCKLINS 

I  told  these  here  folks  where  I  was  from  I  braced  myself, 
expectin'  to  have  a  fight  right  there,  but  I  want  to  tell  you 
that  I  was  never  better  treated  in  my  life.  All  the  good 
folks  ain't  huddled  together  in  one  community,  I  tell  you ; 
and  this  knockin'  round  has  opened  my  eyes  mightily. 
Why,  I  rickollect  when  they  sorter  looked  down  on  Conk- 
wright  because  his  father  wa'n't  born  in  the  South.  Yes, 
sir,  and  they  gave  me  work  right  off — that  is,  they  call  it 
work,  but  I  call  it  play — gatherin'  fruit.  Why,  with  us, 
when  a  feller  wanted  to  rest  he'd  go  out  and  gather  fruit, 
if  he  could  find  any.  Yes,  sir,  and  I'm  goin'  to  stay  right 
here  till  the  cat  makes  her  final  jump  one  way  or  another." 

How  fondly  they  listened  as  I  talked  about  the  old  place, 
of  well-known  trees,  of  the  big  rock  on  the  brink  of  the 
ravine.  I  even  told  them  that  the  General  lamented  the 
breaking  of  the  engagement,  that  he  had  come  as  an  agent, 
that  his  son  was  at  fault.  Guinea  smiled  at  this,  and  I 
thought  that  her  eyes  grew  darker. 

I  learned  that  my  train  was  not  to  leave  until  night.  I 
was  glad  of  this,  for  it  gave  me  a  sweet  lingering  time;  and 
in  the  afternoon  Guinea  and  I  went  down  to  the  river. 

"We  will  get  a  boat  and  row  up  past  the  island,  away 
up  to  the  beautiful  hills,"  she  said.  "But  can  you  row?" 
she  asked,  with  a  look  of  concern. 

"I  have  pulled  a  boat  against  a  swifter  current  than  this." 
I  answered.  "I  lived  near  the  bank  of  a  rapid  stream." 

We  got  into  a  graceful  boat  and  skimmed  easily  over 
the  water.  Now  it  was  my  time  to  wonder  and  to  muse 


2TC  THE  JUCKLINS 

over  the  changes  that  had  come — to  dream  as  I  looked  at 
her,  as  she  sat,  trailing  her  hand  in  the  water,  her  hand, 
my  hand,  though  she  had  not  let  me  take  it  to  help  her  into 
the  boat.  With  her  a  swamp  would  have  been  attractive, 
but  here  we  were  in  a  paradise.  Boats  up  and  down  the 
river;  lovers  went  by,  singing.  On  one  shore  the  scene 
was  quiet,  with  easy  slopes  and  with  houses  here  and 
there;  but  the  other  shore  was  wild  with  bluffs,  with 
tangled  vines  and  monstrous  trees  that  storms  had  gnarled 
and  twisted.  Here  a  spring  gushed  out  with  a  gleeful 
laugh,  and  lovers  paused  to  listen,  and  in  its  flow  the  city 
oarsman  cooled  his  blistered  hands. 

"Guinea,  do  you  see  that  high  bluff  up  there  among  the 
pine  trees?" 

"Yes,  and  isn't  it  a  charming  place  ?" 

"I'm  glad  you  think  so?" 

"Why  are  you  glad  of  that?" 

"Because  you — I  mean  a  woman  who  has  had  her  way 
— because  she  may  live  there.  When  at  last  she  is  tired  of 
that  way,  and  when  she  has  gone  to  a  man  with  her  hands 
held  out,  he  will  take  her  to  a  house  built  on  that  bluff, 
a  summer  home.  I'm  not'joking.  Next  year  there  will 
be  a  beautiful  home  up  there.  Don't  you  see,  the  land  is 
for  sale?  And  in  the  house  a  man  is  going  to  write  a  his 
tory  of  a  woman  who  had  her  way  and  of  a  man  who — well, 
I  hardly  know  what  to  say  about  him,  buf  I  am  not  going 
to  hide  his  faults  nor  cover  up  his  weaknesses." 

"Are  you  really  in  earnest,  Mr.1  Hawes?" 


THE  JUCKL1N3 

"Yes,  I  mean  every  word  of  it.  Wouldn't  you — I  mean, 
wouldn't  the  woman  who  had  persisted  in  having  her  way 
—wouldn't  she  like  a  home  up  there?" 

In  her  voice  was  the  musical  cluck  that  so  often  had 
charmed  me.  "She  would  be  happy  anywhere  with  the 
man  who  had  permitted  her  to  have  her  way,  and  I  know 
that  she  would  be  delighted  to  live  up  there.  And  you — 
I  mean  the  man — wouldn't  have  any  of  the  trees  cut  down, 
would  he?" 

"Not  one.  He  would  build  the  house  in  that  open  place." 

"Charming,"  she  said.  "How  sweet  a  religion  could  be 
made  of  a  life  up  there,  with  the  river  and  the  hills  and  the 
island — beautiful." 

"Guinea.  I  wish  you  would  tell  me  something.  Did  you 
ever  really  love — him?" 

"When  I  have  come  to  you  as  I  told  you  I  would  come, 
you  will  not  have  to  ask  me  anything." 

"But  can  you  give  me  some  idea  as  to  how  long  I  may 
have  to  wait?  My  confidence  in  you  is  complete,  but  you 
must  know  that  to  wait  is  painful.  Suppose  that  a  cer 
tain  something  that  you  are  waiting  for — suppose  that 
nothing  should  come  of  it?  What  then?" 

"No  matter  what  takes  place,  I  will  come  to  you.  I 
know  that  it  must  appear  foolish,  I  know  that  I  am  but 
vague  in  what  I  try  to  make  you  understand,  but — you 
will  wait  a  while  longer,  won't  you?" 

Her  voice  was  so  pleading,  her  manner  was  so  full  of 
distress,  that  I  hastened  to  tell  her  that  I  would  wait,  no 


THE 


matter  how  long  she  might  deign  to  hold  me  off,  and  that 
never  again  could  she  find  cause  to  reprove  my  impa 
tience.  She  thanked  me  with  a  smile  and  with  many  an 
endearing  word,  and  onward  we  went,  the  boats  passing 
us,  the  songs  of  lovers  reaching  us  from  above  and  below. 
We  landed  and  climbed  the  bluff,  and  I  selected  the  exact 
spot  whereon  the  house  was  to  be;  we  loitered  in  the  shade 
and  counted  'the  minutes  as  they  flew  away  like  pigeons 
from  a  trap,  but  we  could  not  shoot  them  and  bring  them 
back;  so  they  were  gone,  and  it  was  soon  time  for  us  to  go, 
for  the  light  of  the  sun  was  weakening.  Down  the  river 
we  went,  singing  "Juamta,"  she  rippling  the  water  with  her 
hand,  I  half-hearted  in  my  rowing,  dreamily  wishing  thai 
the  train  might  leave  me. 

Close  to  me  at  the  door  she  stood.  The  old  man  was 
outside,  waiting  to  go  with  me  to  the  railway  station.  She 
bowed  her  head  and  I  kissed  her  hair. 


mat 


CHAPTER  XX. 

The  sun  had  just  gone  down,  and  a  man  was  beating  a 
triangle  to  announce  that  it  was  lodge-night,  when  1 
stepped  upon  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  Conkwright's  office. 
The  old  man  was  locking  his  door.  I  spoke  to  him  and  he 
turned  about,  and,  seeing  me,  merely  nodded,  threw  open 
the  door  and  bade  me  go  in.  "Mighty  glad  you've  got 
back,"  he  said.  'They  are  going  to  bring  that  trial  on  right 
away,  and  it  will  be  none  too  soon  for  us,  I  assure  you. 
Let  me  open  this  window.  Been  about  as  hot  a  day  as  I 
ever  felt.  Well,  what  have  you  got  to  say?" 

"So  much  that  I  scarcely  know  how  to  begin." 

He  grunted.  "The  prelude  to  an  unimportant  story, 
But,  go  on." 

Long  before  I  was  done  with  my  recital  he  sat  with  his 
eyes  wide  open,  seeming  to  wonder  whether  my  reason  had 
slipped  a  cog. 

"Wonderful,"  he  said.  "No,  it  is  not  wonderful,  nothing 
is  wonderful.  The  mere  fact  that  a  thing  happens  proves 
that  there  is  about  it  no  element  of  the  marvelous.  It  is 
the  strange  thing  that  does  not  occur.  When  it  does  occur 
it  ceases  to  be  strange.  And  you  say  he  will  be  here  to 
morrow?  Now,  you  let  me  take  charge  of  him  as  soon  as 


THE  JUCKLLNS 

he  arrives.  If  you  don't  he  will  not  only  get  the  mine  for 
nothing,  but  will  go  away  with  your  eye  teeth.  I'll  go 
home  to-night  and  study  up  this  question,  and  by  to 
morrow  night  I'll  know  more  about  it  than  he  does.  Yes, 
sir,  a  good  deal  more,  or  at  least  make  him  think  so. 
You  were  long-headed  in  deciding  to  slip  out  there  and 
buy  more  land,  and  by  the  way,  Parker  is  in  town.  No, 
sir,  there  is  no  telling  what  may  happen.  See  Parker  to 
night  and  meet  me  here  to-morrow  morning." 

I  found  Alf  reading  a  letter  which  Millie  had  contrived 
to  send  him.  Under  the  light  of  the  smoky  lamp  his  face 
looked  sallow  and  thin,  but  his  eyes  were  full  of  happiness. 
''She's  got  the  noblest  spirit  that  ever  suffered,  and  noble 
spirits  must  suffer,"  he  said  as  he  handed  me  the  letter. 
''See,  she  begs  my  forgiveness  for  having  kept  me  on  the 
gridiron.  But  doesn't  one  letter  atone  for  a  whole  year 
of  broiling?  Ah,  and  you  have  been  broiled,  too,  haven't 
you,  Bill?  Now  let  them  put  the  balm  on  us.  The  Judge 
tells  me  that  I  am  soon  to  be  turned  out,  and  I'll  come  out 
wiser  than  I  was  when  I  came  in,  for  I  have  improved  my 
time  with  reading.  Have  you  heard  from  the  folks?" 

I  told  him  my  story,  and  I  told  it  quietly,  but  it  greatly 
excited  him,  and  time  and  again  he  thrust  his  hands 
through  the  iron  lattice  to  grasp  me.  "So  you  will  go  out 
not  only  wiser,  but  a  richer  man,"  I  said.  "You  will  not 
have  to  go  into  a  field  and  plow  in  the  blistering  heat  while 
other  men  are  sitting  in  the  shade.  All  our  trouble  has 
been  for  the  best,  and  with  deep  reverence  we  must  ac- 


THE  JUCKLINS 

knowledge  it.  And  soon  we  will  go  together  out  to  the 
old  place  and  peacefully  smoke  our  pipes  up  under  the 
rafters.  Well,  I  have  left  you  the  subject  for  a  pleasant 
dream,  and  I  must  go  now  to  look  for  Parker.  As  I  said  to 
your  father,  there  is  no  telling  how  much  money  we  may 
get,  but  whatever  comes  we  share/' 

"Not  if  it's  very  much,  Bill.  I  don't  need  much;  I 
wouldn't  know  what  to  do  with  it.  But  if  you  could  only 
do  one  thing  it  would  make  me  the  happiest  man  that  ever 
lived." 

"Tell  me  what  it  is.    It  can  surely  be  done." 

"Why,  if  I  could  only  get  the  old  Morton  place.  It's 
about  three  miles  from  the  General's,  and  it  used  to  belong 
to  his  grandfather.  One  of  his  aims  in  life  has  been  to  get 
it  back  into  the  family,  and  if  you  could  get  it  for  me — 

"You  shall  have  it." 

"Don't  say  so,  Bill,  unless  you  think  there's  a  chance." 

"It's  not  a  chance,  but  a  certainty.  You  shall  have  the 
place.  And  what  a  delight  it  will  be  to  the  General  to  visit 
his  daughter  there.  Now,  don't  speculate — let  it  be  settled. 
Well,  I'll  see  you  to-morrow  and  tell  you  how  it's  all  to 
turn  out,  but  have  no  fears  about  getting  the  farm." 

I  found  Parker  at  the  tavern.  He  told  me  that  I  might 
have  a  few  acres  of  land  down  about  the  spring,  but  that 
I  would  have  to  pay  a  little  more  for  it  than  he  had  paid. 
"We  can't  afford  to  trade  for  the  mere  fun  of  it,"  he  said. 
"My  father  used  to  do  such  things  and  they  came  mighty 
nigh  having  to  haul  him  to  the  poor  house." 


THE  JUCKLINS 

I  offered  him  a  sum.  that  pleased  him,  that  must,  indeed, 
have  delighted  him,  for  he  offered  to  go  out  and  set  up  a 
feast  of  cove  oysters  and  crackers,  a  great  and  liberal  cere 
mony  in  the  country;  and  over  the  tin  plates  in  a  grocery 
store  the  transaction  was  celebrated.  I  met  him  again 
early  at  morning,  and  before  the  day  was  half-grown  I 
saw  our  transaction  spread  upon  the  records.  And  at  night 
Ging  arrived.  I  introduced  him  to  Conkwright.  "The 
Judge  will  represent  me,"  said  I,  "and  I  will  stand  by  any 
agreement  he  may  enter  into  with  you." 

"All  right,"  Ging  replied.  "How  far  is  it  out  to  the 
mine?" 

"About  five  miles." 

"Better  go  out  to-night.  Haven't  any  time  to  lose.  Get 
a  rig  and  we'll  go  out." 

"Might  as  well  wait  until  morning,"  said  the  Judge.  "We 
can't  do  anything  to-night." 

"I  know,  but  by  staying  there  to-night  we'll  be  there 
right  early  in  the  morning.  Get  a  rig.'' 

They  drove  away  and  I  went  round  to  the  jail  to  tell 
Alf  that  the  old  Morton  place  was  rapidly  coming  his 
way.  I  slept  but  little  that  night  and  I  was  nervous  the 
next  day,  as  I  sat  in  the  Judge's  office  waiting  for  him  to 
return.  At  1 1  o'clock  he  drove  up  alone. 

"Where  is  Ging?"  I  asked  as  the  old  man  got  out  of  the 
buggy. 

"Gone  to  the  telegraph  office.  Come  in  and  I'll  teil  you 
all  about  it" 


THE  JUCKLiJVft 

We  entered  the  office  and  I  stood  there  impatient  at  his 
delay,  for  instead  of  telling  me,  lie  was  silent,  walking 
up  and  down  the  room  with  his  hands  under  his  coat  be 
hind  him. 

"Did  you  say  he  had  gone  to  the  telegraph  office?" 

"Yes;  said  he  had  to  communicate  with  his  partner. 
Think  he  must  have  been  somewhat  startled  at  my  knowl 
edge  of  mica;  but  if  he  should  spring  the  subject  on  me  a 
week  from  now  he  would  be  still  more  startled — at  my 
ignorance.  In  this  instance  I  have  been  what  is  termed  a 
case  lawyer." 

And  still  I  waited  and  still  he  continued  to  walk  up  and 
down  the  room,  his  hands  behind  him. 

"Communicate  with  his  partner.  Did  he  make  an 
offer?" 

"Well,  he  hunted  around  in  that  neighborhood,  but  his 
gun  hung  fire.  The  truth  is  I  set  the  price  myself.  There 
is  no  doubt  as  to  the  value  of  the  mine — finest  in  the 
world,  I  should  think." 

"What  did  you  tell  him  he  could  have  it  for?" 

"Well,  I  suppose  we  could  get  more  for  it,  but  I  told  him 
that  he  might  Tiave  it  for  six  hundred  thousand  dollars.  I 
—why,  what's  wrong  with  that  offer?  Isn't  it  enough?" 

"Enough!  It  is  more  than  I  dared  to  dream!"  I  cried. 

"Ah,  hah.  And  because  you  don't  know  anything  about 
mica.  It  didn't  startle  him;  simply  remarked  that  he 
would  telegraph  to  his  partner.  He'll  take  it.  He'll  give 
you  a  check  and  I'll  send  it  over  to  Knoxville,  Tenn. — 


THE  JCTCKLINS 

don't  want  this  little  bank  to  handle  that  amount.    What 
are  you  going  to  do  with  the  money?" 

"Pm  going  to  buy  the  old  Morton  place  for  Alf,  give  the 
old  man  as  much  as  I  can  compel  him  to  take,  and  Pm 
going  to  build  a  home  on  a  high  bluff  overlooking  the  St 
Jo  river,  in  Michigan.  And  I  don't  know  yet  what  else 
I  may  do.  It  is  so  overwhelming  that  my  mind  is  in  a 
tangle.  But  I  am  going  to  give  you — 

"I  don't  charge  you  anything  for  my  services,"  he  broke 
in,  humorously  winking  his  old  eyes.  "You  are  to  be 
my  law  partner,  you  know." 

"Ah,  that  was  reserved  for  time  to  bring  about,  in  the 
event  that  I  should  ever  become  a  lawyer,  but  that  possi 
bility  is  now  removed.  Pn>not  going  to  study  law.  The 
law  is  very  forcible  and  very  logical,  but  it  is  too  dry  for 
me.  I  don't  believe  that  I  am  practical  enough  for  a  law 
yer.  I  would  rather  read  poetry  and  luminous  prose  than 
to  study  rules  of  civil  conduct  I  am  going  to  bejewel  my 
house  with  books  and  then  I  am  going  to  live.  I  heard 
you  say  that  the  poet  was  the  only  man  who  really  lives, 
but  he  is  not — those  who  worship  with  him  live  with  him. 
Yes,  I  am  going  to  buy  old  books — I  don't  like  new  ones 
— and  in  my  library  I  will  rule  over  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth.  But  I  am  going  to  give  you  ten  thousand  dollars." 

"You  wouldn't  make  a  very  good  lawyer,  Bill.  I  sus 
pected  it,  and  now  you  prove  it.  My  dear  fellow,  I  have  no 
children,  and  am  getting  old,  therefore  I  have  no  use  for 
money.  Wait  a  minute.  I  believe  there  is  a  five  thousand 


THE  JUCKLINS 


281 


do*iea      jrtgage  on  my  house.    Well,  you  may  lend  me  ten 
thousand,  but  I  don't  believe  I'll  ever  pay  it  back.    I  can't 
afford  to  violate  the  rule.    When  a  man  lends  me  money  it's 
gone.    And  that's  right,  for  if  I  thought  I  had  to  pay  it 
back  I  might  dodge  you.    Yes,  sir.    As  I  was  driving  back 
to  town  I  came  within  one  of  permitting  myself  to  look 
upon  this  happening  as  a  strange  affair,  but  it  is  not;  it's 
perfectly  natural.     Yes,  sir.     And  as  soon  as  the  news 
spreads  around,  nearly  every  n.an  in  the  community  will 
turn  out  to  hunt  for  mica,  and  not  a  speck  of  it  will  be 
found.    A  reminder  of  the  imitators  that  clamor  when  the 
dear  voice  of  a  genius  has  been  heard.    If  I  keep  on  fooling 
with  this  subject  I  will  regard  it  as  strange,  after  all.    Just 
think  of  the  ten  thousand  things  that  led  to  the  discovery 
of  that  mine.     Suppose  we  could  trace  any  occurrence 
back  to  its  source.     Take  my  sitting  here,  for  instance. 
Caused,  we  will  say,  by  a  dead  cat.  My  father,  a  very  young 
fellow  at  the  time,  found  a  dead  cat  lying  on  his  father's 
door-steps,  and  he  threw  it  over  into  a  neighbor's  yard.  The 
neighbor  saw  him,  came  over  and  demanded  that  he  be 
whipped.     He  was  whipped,  according  to  the  good,  old 
religious  custom,  and  he  ran  away  from  home,  went  to 
many  places,  came  into  this  state  as  a  clock  peddler,  fell 
in  love,  married,  and  here  I  am,  sitting  here — all  caused 
by  a  dead  cat.     My  mother  was  the  daughter  of  a  very 
proud  old  fellow.    She  ran  away  with  my  father  and  never 
again  was  she  received  at  home.    I  may  have  dreamed  it, 
but  it  seems  that  I  remember  my  mother  holding  me  in 


282  THE  JUCKLINS 

her  arms,  pointing  to  an  old  brick  house  and  telling  me 
that  my  grandfather  lived  there.  Yes,  sir,  if  we  permit 
our  minds  to  drift  that  way,  everything  is  strange.  Here 
comes  our  man." 

Ging  stepped  in,  mopping  his  face  with  a  handkerchief. 
"I'll  take  it,"  he  said,  and  it  semed  to  me  that  the  room  be 
gan  to  turn  round.  "Let  us  fix  it  up  at  once,"  he  added. 
"I  have  engaged  a  man  to  drive  me  to  the  station  and  I 
want  to  take  the  next  train." 

Evening  came.  The  day  had  been  filled  with  tremors 
and  whirls,  so  dazed  was  I,  dreamily  listening  to  details, 
now  startled,  now  seeming  to  be  far  away — shaking  hands, 
signing  papers;  and  now  it  was  all  settled,  and  I,  on  a 
horse,  rode  toward  home  to  seek  a  night  of  rest  in  the  coun 
try.  The  moon  was  full.  I  heard  the  sharp  clack  of  hoofs, 
and,  looking  back,  I  saw  a  man  riding  as  if  it  were  his  aim 
to  overtake  me.  I  jogged  along  slowly  and  Etheredge 
came  up. 

"How  are  you,  Mr.  Hawes?  I  have  heard  of  your  won 
derful  luck  and  I  congratulate  you.  I  intended  to  see  you 
in  town  to-night,  but  learned  that  you  had  come  out  here, 
so  I  rode  fast  to  overtake  you.  I  have  sold  out  and  will 
leave  here  to-morrow  morning." 

"What!    Then  you  won't  be  here  at  the  trial ?" 

"I  shall  not  be  needed,  sir.  Now  I  am  going  to  tell  you 
something  and  I  hope  that  in  your  mind,  and  in  the  mind 
of  the  public,  the  good  which  it  will  do  may  in  some  meas 
ure  atone  for  the  wrong " 


THE  JUCKLINS 

His  horse  stumbled,  and  he  did  not  complete  the  sen 
tence.  I  was  afraid  to  say  anything,  was  afraid  that  eager 
ness  on  my  part  might  stir  the  vagaries  of  his  peculiar 
mind  and  drive  him  into  stubborn  silence.  So  I  said  noth 
ing.  He  rode  close  to  me,  reached  over  and  put  his  hand 
on  my  arm.  "Mr.  Hawes,"  he  said,  leaning  toward  me, 
and  in  the  moonlight  his  face  was  ghast'y,  "Mr.  Hawes, 
Alf  Jucklin  did  not  kill  Dan  Stuart." 

"What!"  I  cried,  bringing  my  horse  to  a  stand-still  and 
seizing  his  bridle-rein. 

"Let  us  be  perfectly  calm  now,  and  I'll  tell  you  all  about 
it.  Turn  loose  my  bridle-rein  and  let  us  ride  on  slowly." 

Down  the  moon-whitened  road  the  horses  slowly 
walked.  I  waited  for  him  to  continue.  "No,  sir,  Alf  didn't 
kill  him.  I  found  him  in  the  road,  after  Alf  had  called 
me,  and  I  took  him  into  my  house  and  there  was  not  a 
mark  on  him,  not  one.  I  stripped  him  and  nowhere  was 
his  skin  broken.  Dan  was  boim  with  organic  disease  of 
the  heart,  and  for  years  I  had  been  treating  him.  He  was 
sensitive  and  never  spoke  of  his  ailment  and  I  was  the  only 
one  who  knew  the  extent  of  it.  Two  years  ago  I  told  him 
that  he  was  likely  to  die  at  any  minute,  and  I  repeatedly 
warned  him  against  fatigue  or  any  sort  of  agi 
tation.  And  it  was  rage  that  killed  him  when 
AlPs  pistol  fired.  The  hammer  of  Dan's  pistol 
caught  in  his  pocket  and  his  failure  to  get  it  out  threw 
him  into  a  rage  and  he  died.  I  told  the  coroner 
that  he  was  shot  through  the  breast,  and  I  slyly  contrived 


284  THKJUCKLINb 

not  to  be  placed  upon  my  oath.  They  had  Alf's  confession, 
and  that  was  enough.  And  no  one  cared  to  strip  the  dead 
man  to  examine  the  wound.  It  was  a  piece  of  humbuggery, 
as  all  coroners'  inquests  are,  and  so  the  verdict  was  given. 
I  am  a  mean  man;  I  acknowledge  it — I  am  narrow  and 
vindictive,  but  I  would  have  made  a  confession  of  the 
manner  of  Dan's  death  rather  than  to  see  Alf  hanged.  I 
knew  that  there  would  be  a  new  trial ;  I  intended  to  leave 
the  community  and  I  resolved  to  defer  my  statement  until 
just  before  going.  That  about  covers  the  case,  I  think." 

"Will  you  go  with  me  to  a  justice  of  the  peace,  write 
out  your  statement  and  swear  to  it?"  I  asked,  striving  to 
be  calm. 

"Certainly.  Old  Perdue  is  a  justice.  We'll  go  over 
there." 

The  moon  was  still  high  as  I  galloped  toward  town 
with  the  statement  in  my  pocket.  I  went  straightway  to 
Conkwright's  house  and- with  the  door-knocker  set  every 
dog  in  the  town  to  barking. 

"Why,  what  on  earth  is  the  matter?"  the  Judge  asked 
as  he  opened  the  door.  "Oh,  it's  you,  is  it,  Bill?  I've  got  a 
negro  here  somewhere,  but  Gabriel  might  blow  a  blast  in 
his  ear  and  never  stir  his  wool.  Come  into  the  library." 

He  lighted  a  lamp,  and  I  handed  him  the  doctor's  state 
ment.  He  read  it  without  the  least  show  of  surprise ;  and, 
puttting  the  paper  into  his  pocket,  he  sat  down,  closed  his 
eyes,  and  with  his  thumb  and  forefinger  pressed  his  eye 
lids. 


THE  JUCKLIN8 

'Etheredge  is  going  to  leave  in  the  morning,"  I  said. 

"He  ought  to  be  sent  to  the  penitentiary.  But  let  him 
go.  Penitentiary  is  better  off  without  him.  In  the  morn 
ing  we  will  have  several  of  our  leading  doctors  exhume 
the  body  to  verify  the  statement.  I'll  attend  to  it.  Yes,  sir. 
A  certain  form  must  be  observed.  A  jury  will  be  impan 
eled,  the  statement  will  be  read,  and  the  judge  will,  in  a 
sort  of  a  charge,  declare  that  the  prisoner  is  innocent 
Some  things  are  strange  after  all.  A  venomous  scoundrel, 
but  let  him  go.  Yes,  I'll  attend  to  everything  in  the  morn 
ing.  You'd  better  sleep  here." 

"No,  Pm  going  to  the  jail  and  then  to  the  telegraph 
affice." 


286  THE  JUCKLIHB 


CHAPTER  XXL 

CONCLUSION. 

How  soft  had  been  the  day,  how  tender  the  tone  of  every 
voice.  The  road  under  the  moon  was  white  and  from  a 
persimmon  tree  in  an  old  field  came  the  trill  of  a  mocking 
bird.  Two  happy  men  were  riding  toward  an  old  home. 

"And  here  is  where  he  fell,"  said  AH.  "I  am  tempted 
to  get  down  and  pray.  Bill,  you  don't  know  what  it  is  to  be 
freed  from  the  conviction  that  you  have  killed  a  man.  He 
might  not  have  died  then  if  it  had  not  been  for  me,  but, 
thank  God,  I  didn't  kill  him.  Yes,  here  is  where  I  eased 
him  down.  I  remembered  afterward  that  I  had  not  seen  a 
drop  of  his  blood  and  I  was  deeply  thankful  for  it.  We 
can  almost  see  the  General's  house  from  here.  You  saw 
the  old  man  to-day  when  he  came  up  and  shook  hands 
with  me.  He  hardly  knew  what  he  was  about,  and  he 
said,  'Alf,  what's  your  father  doing?'  But  his  eyes  were 
full  of  tears  and  he  had  to  wipe  them  when  I  told  him  that 
I  was  going  to  buy  the  old  Morton  place.  He  thinks  you 
are  a  great  man,  Bill,  and  I  honor  him  for  it.  To-night 
we  will  sleep  in  our  room  and  early  to-morrow  morning 
I'm  going  over  to  see  Millie.  Do  you  think  I  ought  to  go 
to-night?  No,  I  will  wait  and  dream  over  it." 


THE  JUCKL1N8 

In  the  old  room  we  sat  and  peacefully  smoked  our  pipes, 
And  after  I  had  gone,  to  bed,  and  when  I  thought  Alf  was 
asleep,  I  heard  him  talking  to  himself.  No,  it  was  not 
talk,  it  was  a  chant,  and  it  reminded  me  of  his  mother.  I 
said  nothing  and  I  sank  to  sleep,  and  strange,  mystic 
words  were  in  my  ears,  soothing  me  down  to  forgetful 
slumber. 

We  were  aroused  early  at  morning  by  the  rattle  of  a 
wagon  at  the  door.  The  old  people — Guinea  had  come 
back.  Alf  dressed  quickly  and  ran  down  stairs,  and  I 
stuffed  my  ears  that  I  might  hear  no  sound  from  below. 
After  a  long  time,  and  while  I  sat  looking  out  of  the  win 
dow,  the  old  man  came  up. 

"By  jings,  I  must  have  got  that  dispatch  of  yourn  before 
you  sent  it.  Mighty  glad  to  see  you  again.  But  don't 
go  down  stairs  yet.  Everybody  down  there  is  as  foolish 
as  a  chicken  with  his  neck  wrung.  I  tell  you  the  Lord 
works  things  out  in  his  own  way.  Sometimes  we  may 
think  that  we  could  run  things  better,  but  I  don't  believe 
we  could !  and,  thurfore,  I  say,  kiver  to  kiver.  Ah,  Lord, 
what  a  time  we  have  had.  Yes,  sir,  a  time  if  there  ever 
was  one.  Alf  has  jest  told  me  what  you  intend  to  do,  but 
if  you  think  that  you  are  goin'  to  crowd  a  lot  of  money 
off  on  me  you  are  wrong.  Give  us  this  old  house  and  see 
that  we  don't  need  nothin' — but,  of  course,  you'll  do  that 
I  thought  I'd  let  'em  fight  to  a  finish  up  yander,  but  I 
didn't.  They  looked  at  me  so  pitiful  that  I  called  an  old 
feller  that  happened  to  be  passin'  along  and  told  him  that 


THE  JUCKLIKS 

he  might  have  'em.  I've  got  to  have  a  Sam  and  a  Bo4x 
Old  Craighead,  that  lives  about  ten  miles  from  here,  has 
some  of  the  finest  in  the  world.  Always  wanted  'em,  but 
they  were  so  high  that  I  couldn't  tip-toe  and  reach  'em. 
Reckon  you  could  fix  it  so  I  could  git  a  couple?" 

"You  shall  have  as  many  as  you  want — all  of  them." 
"I'm  a  thousand  times  obleeged  to  you.  Yes,  sir;  some 
times  we  think  we  could  run  things  better  than  He  does, 
but  I  don't  reckon  we  could.  We  seen  young  Lundsford 
as  we  driv  along  jest  now.  And  I  think  he'JJ  be  over  here 
putty  soon,  but  don't  you  worry.  No,  sir,  we  ain't  got 
nothin'  to  worry  about  now.  Believe  it  would  push  us 
to  scratch  up  a  worry,  don't  you?  By  jings,  though,  I 
hardly  know  what  to  do;  I  step  around  here  like  a  blind 
sheep  in  a  barn,  as  the  feller  says.  Well,  it's  gettin'  pretty 
quiet  down  there  now.  Alf  got  away  as  soon  as  he  could, 
and  has  gone  over  to  the  General's.  Hush  a  minit. 
Thought  I  heard  Chyd's  voice.  Well,  I'm  going  to  poke 
round  a  little,  and  it's  not  worth  while  to  tell  you  to  make 
yourself  at  home/' 

He  went  out,  and  I  heard  him  humming  a  tune  as  he 
tramped  slowly  down  the  stairs.  I  took  a  seat  near  the 
window.  Voices  reached  me,  and,  looking  down  through 
the  branches  of  a  mulberry  tree,  I  saw  Guinea  sittting  on 
a  bench,  and  near  her  stood  Chyd  Lundsford.  In  his  hand 
he  held  a  switch  and  with  it  he  was  slowly  cutting  at  a 
bloom  on  a  vine  that  grew  about  the  tree.  He  was  talking. 
Guinea's  face  was  turned  upward  and  her  hands  were 


THE  JTTCKLIN'S 

clasped  behind  her  head.  I  could  look  down  into  her 
eyes,  but  she  did  not  see  me,  and  I  felt  a  sense  of  self-re 
proach  at  thus  watching  her,  listening  for  her  to  speak, 
and  I  thought  to  get  up,  but  my  legs  refused  to  move,  and 
I  sat  there,  looking  down  into  her  eyes.  Her  face  was 
pale  and  her  lips,  which  had  seemed  to  me  in  bloom  with 
the  rich  juice  of  life,  were  now  drawn  thin. 

"Of  course,  I  was  wrong,"  he  said,  "but  I'm  not  the 
first  man  that  ever  did  a  wrong.  And  I  should  think  that 
as  a  broad-minded  and  generous  woman  you  could  forgive 
me.  I  don't  think  that  you  can  find  any  man  who  would 
take  any  better  care  of  you  than  I  would.  I've  got  no 
romance  about  me,  and  why  should  I  have?  I  can  just  re 
member  seeing  the  trail  of  that  monster  called  advance- 
ment — that  mighty  thing  called  progress,  though  in  the 
guise  of  war,  and  that  thing  swallowed  the  romance  of 
this  country.  I  say  that  I  can  remember  seeeing  the  fad 
ing  trail,  but  I  know  its  history  and  I  know  that  if  it  did 
not  swallow  romance  it  should  have  done  so.  I  don't  sup 
pose  I  could  ever  think  as  much  of  any  woman  as  I  do  oi 
you,  and  I  know  that  no  woman  could  make  my  house  so 
bright  and  cheerful.  I  was  afraid  of  any  complication 
that  might  hurt  my  prospects  as  a  physician,  my  standing 
in  the  opinion  of  a  careful  and  discriminating  public;  so, 
influenced  by  that  sense  of  self-protecton,  I  broke  our  en 
gagement.  But  now  I  beg  of  you  to  renewW 

"On  your  knees!"  she  said,  without  looking  at  him. 

"Now,  Guinea,  that' s  ridiculous.    I  am  willing  to  make 


280  THE  JTJCKLINS 

all  sorts  of  amends * 

"On  your  knees !"  she  said. 

"I  see  that  there  is  no  use  to  appeal  to  your  reason.  1 
suppose,  however,  that  the  way  to  reason  with  a  woman 
is  to  gratify  her  whim  and  then  appeal  to  her  sense.  It  is 
a  foolish  thing  to  do,  but  in  order  to  secure  a  hearing  I 
will  do  as  yov  say." 

He  sank  upon  his  knees.  She  glanced  down  at  him  and 
:hen  looked  up  at  the  sky.  He  began  to  talk,  but  she 
stopped  him  with  a  motion  of  her  hand. 

"You  have  heard  the  preacher  say  that  we  must  be  born 
again,"  she  said.  "I  have  been  born  again — born  into  the 
kingdom  of  love,  and  I  find  myself  in  a  rapturous  heaven. 
Get  up."  He  obeyed,  and  she  continued.  "And  you  are  so 
far  from  this  kingdom  that  I  cannot  see  you — you  are  off 
somewhere  in  the  dark,  and  to  me  your  words  are  cold. 
But  there  is  one  who  stands  in  the  light  and  I  must  go 
to  him." 

I  sprang  from  my  seat  and  hastened  down  the  stairs. 
My  heart  beat  fast,  and  I  trembled.  I  was  frightened  like 
a  child,  like  a  timid  overgrown  boy,  who  is  call  *d  to  the 
table  to  sit  beside  a  girl  whom  he  slyly  worships;  a^d  I  ran 
away — down  the  path  to  the  spring.  I  heard  hei  calling 
me,  and  I  stood  there  trembling,  waiting  for  a  ho^y  spirit 
that  was  searching  for  me;  and  worship  made  me  dumb. 
She  came  down  the  path,  and,  seeing  me,  hastened  ttward 
me  with  her  head  bent  forward  and  her  hands  hel*1  out, 
A.nd  I  caught  her  in  my  arms,  swept  her  off  the  griund 


JUCKLLSB 

and  held  her  to  my  beating  heart 

And  over  the  stones  the  water  was  laughing,  and  the 
strip  of  green  moss-land  flashed  in  the  sun.  I  saw  the  old 
man  walking  up  the  ravine,  with  his  hands  behind  him, 
and  I  caught  the  faint  sound  of  a  tune  he  was  humming. 
Slowly  her  arms  came  from  about  my  neck,  and  hand  in 
hand  we  walked  toward  the  house,  she  in  the  shining  path, 
I  on  the  green  sward;  and  as  we  drew  near  we  saw  Alf  and 
Millie,  standing  under  a  tree,  waiting  for  us. 
The  End 


FROLICS 


-OF  THE 


ABC 


BY  FANNIE  E.  OSTRANDER 

AUTHOR  OF    "BABY    GOOSE" 


Printed 

in  Colors 
Throughout 


Every  Page 
^Pictorial 

.   Treat 


Actual  size  of  volume,  9^x10^  inches. 


Pictures  Designed  by  HIRCHERT 

WHOSE    CLEVER    DRAWINGS    FOR     "BABY      GOOSE" 
WERE     EVERYWHERE     RECEIVED     WITH     ACCLAIM    .    .    . 


The    small   cut   above    shows   the   cover   design,  which    is  printed 
in   four   colors    on    the    books 


It  Will  Make  Ail  the  Children  Happy 

And  will  teach  the  little  ones  their  A  B  C's 
in   a   way   that    will    delight   them      :      : 

Board  covers,  cloth  back,  750. 


For  sale  everywhere,  or  sent,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  price,  by 

LAIRD  &  LEE,  Publishers,      CHICAGO,  U.S.A. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY, 
BERKELEY 


2  7  1978 

REG.  cm.  NW  22  78 

J  UN  18  1987 


20m-ll,'20 


t-tW.  )  W  ,  i.   . 

The  Jucklins 


R284 





UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


